.9 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

•0- 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


Salt  Lake  City. 


PREPARED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  THE 


Salt  jjake  (Ttiarriber  of 


SA          AK  E 


CITY 


A  uetcn  °|  Imn  s  W°nckf{u 


PREPARED   AND    PUBLISHED    BY   THE 


SALT  LIKE  CHAMBER  OF  COMMEECE. 


•s 


Salt   Lal^e,   A.    D.    1888. 


F  <5r 
.? 

so- 


COPYRIGHTED  1888,  BY  M.  J.  FORHAN, 
Salt  Lake  City,   Utah. 


BANCROFT 

LIBRARY 

PREFACE. 


THE  following  sketch  of  the  resources  and  attractions  of  Salt 
Lake  City  has  been  prepared  and  published  by  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  an  association  organized  April,  1887,  and  consisting 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  representative  citizens  and  business 
men  of  Salt  Lake.  The  publication  is  intended  for  the  diffusion  of 
•correct  information  concerning  Salt  Lake  City  among  the  citizens  of 
the  East,  few  of  whom  have  a  correct  understanding  of  the  extraor- 
dinary material  advantages  enjoyed  by  Utah  Territory,  which  deserves 
to  rank  amongst  the  greatest  Commonwealths  of  the  Union.  The 
statements  made  may  be  relied  upon  as  correct  in  every  particular,  as 
the  thousands  will  vouch  for  who  have  visited  the  Chamber  during  the 
past  twelve  months  and  there  seen  and  examined  the  evidences  of  won- 
derful wealth  extracted  from  Utah's  soil.  Nothing  is  needed  to  insure 
a  prosperous  future  to  Salt  Lake  but  to  make  known  to  the  outside 
world  the  extraordinary  opportunities  here  afforded  for  the  employ- 
ment of  Capital  and  Labor.  There  is  no  department  of  industrial  life 
which  does  not  contain  special  inducements  for  the  investment  of 
Capital  and  the  exercise  of  intelligence,  with  promises  of  remuneration 
not  found  elsewhere.  No  one  who  has  examined  the  possibilities,  or 
who  has  enjoyed  the  natural  amenities  of  life  in  Salt  Lake  City,  has 
-ever  been  disappointed. 

M.  J.   FORHAN, 
Secretary,  Salt  Lake  Chamber  of  Commerce. 


' '  Oh,   Christ !  it  is  a  goodly  sight  to  see 

What  Heaven  hath  done  for  this  delicious  land." 


WHEN  Brigham  Young,  accompanied  by  his  band  of  followers, 
emerged  from  Emigration  Canon  in  the  year  1847  to  gaze  in 
bewilderment  on  the  indescribable  and  unequalled  loveliness 
of  Salt  Lake  Valley,  bordered  by  the  grandeur  of  the  mountains  which 
bound  the  horizon  on  every  side,  he  must  have  felt,  if  he  did  not  utter, 
the  sentiment  expressed  by  Byron.  Truly,  there  is  no  scene  on  earth 
that  equals  this!  The  silent,  snow-capped  mountains  inspire  a  solemn 
awe  which  is  tempered  by  the  exhilaration  pro'duced  by  the  glorious 
sunshine  and  the  feeling  of  tranquil  peace  arising  from  the  contem- 
plation of  the  lovely,  fertile  valley.  The  great  Salt  Lake,  from  the  bosom 
of  which  spring  several  mountain  islands,  borrows  from  the  sunshine  a 
sheen  that  dazzles  and  blinds,  and  the  whole  panorama  is  animated  by 
the  presence  of  a  city  which,  in  manifold  charms  and  attractions,  has  no 
equal  on  the  American  continent.  No  stranger  ever  visited  Salt  Lake 
City  who  did  not  consciously  or  unconsciously  paraphrase  Byron's  ex- 
quisite lines.  There  is  no  city  in  the  Union  which  inspires  so  much  con- 
tentment and  delight.  In  its  natural  aspects  it  is  unrivalled,  and,  by 
universal  accord,  from  the  recognized  appropriateness  of  the  comparison 
as  well  as  by  reason  of  the  parallels  existing  between  the  Jewish 
and  Mormon  religions,  it  has  been  aptly  denominated  the  "  Promised 
Land."  In  this  vast  country — so  vast  that  at  the  capital  Wisconsin  and 
Illinois  are  ranked  among  the  Western  States,  whereas  in  Utah  and 

(5) 


(6) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  7 

Montana  Kansas  is  spoken  of  as  the  East — so  much  ignorance  pre- 
vails concerning  locality  that  the  extraordinary  advantages  enjoyed  by 
Utah  Territory,  and  by  Salt  Lake  City  in  particular,  are  little  under- 
stood. And,  in  addition  to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  correct  informa- 
tion arising  from  distance,  the  exaggeration  engendered  by  the  active 
rivalry  and  competition  between  communities  of  late  years  creates  a 
distrust  and  incredulity  which  prevent  a  consideration  of  the  most 
truthful  statement. 

At  the  outset  it  can  be  truthfully  said  that  there  can  be  no  exagge- 
ration concerning  the  natural  resources  and  attractions  of  Salt  Lake 
City.  Nature  has  been  more  lavish  of  her  blessings  to  Utah  than  to 
any  other  State  or  Territory  in  the  Union.  This  is  a  strong  statement 
to  make,  but  the  sequel  will  prove  its  correctness.  That  the  reader, 
however,  may  peruse  the  following  pages  without  prejudice  or  sus- 
picion, the  testimony  borne  by  strangers  is  herewith  submitted: 

Governor  Fletcher,  of  St.  Louis,  a  lawyer  of  eminent  ability,  and  a 
gentleman  of  sound  judgment  and  extensive  experience,  writing  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  says,  among  other  things:  "  It 
has  long  been  to  me  a  matter  of  surprise  that  a  real,  hearty,  good 
*  boom '  has  not  been  inaugurated  at  Salt  Lake.  There  is  not  a  place 
on  the  continent  where  all  the  surroundings  are  so  favorable  to  making 
a  city  of  a  half  million  of  people.  Salt  Lake  Valley  is  the  most  invit- 
ing region  of  America,  and  it  only  wants  to  be  properly  advertised  to 
start  a  tide  of  immigration  that  will  make  it  the  richest  valley  of  the 
United  States." 

The  editor  of  the  Evening  Leader,  of  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  commenting 
m  the  leading  editorial  of  August  23,  1887,  upon  some  printed  state- 
ments in  reference  to  Salt  Lake,  says:  "Unlike  many  such  docu- 
ments, it  deals  in  no  flights  of  fancy,  but  conforms  itself  strictly  to 
facts,  as  the  writer  of  this,  who  has  looked  upon  the  marvelous  beauties 
of  Salt  Lake  and  its  surroundings,  can  attest.  It  is  certain  that  the 
climate  is  nowhere  in  this  country  so  delightful.  In  summer  the  mean 
temperature  is  74°,  but  the  dry  atmosphere  reduces  this  several  degrees. 
There  are  more  sunshiny  days  in  Salt  Lake  than  in  any  other  city  in 
the  Union,  while  the  nights  are  always  cool.  The  beach  of  America's 
great  Dead  Sea  furnishes  bathing  facilities  that  excel  not  only  those  of 
the  Mediterranean,  Adriatic,  and  all  other  famous  places  of  the  Old 
World,  but  also  those  of  the  ocean  resorts  of  this  country.  Salt  Lake 
is  a  picture  of  loveliness,  with  splendid  opportunities  for  creating  the 
most  attractive  homes  in  the  country." 


(8) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  9 

The  editor  of  the  Press-Bulletin,  Minnesota,  says:  "Salt  Lake  City 
is  showing  her  progressiveness  by  a  general  invitation  to  all  to  come 
and  invest  their  capital  and  energy  there  without  respect  to  faith.  It 
is  tired  of  posing  as  a  '  Mormon  curio-shop,'  and  the  invitation  will 
doubtless  be  accepted  by  many,  as  Salt  Lake  City  possesses  advantages 
which  mark  it  as  the  future  city  of  the  Western-Central  United  States." 

The  editor  of  the  Re'cord,  Connecticut,  says  :  "  Utah's  peculiar 
institution  has  been  so  prominently  before  the  country  as  a  bone  of 
contention  as  to  put  the  attractions  of  its  lands,  its  climate,  and  its 
mines  quite  into  the  shade.  It  has  not  been  generally  known  that  it 
offers  greater  natural  resources  to  settlers  than  most  of  the  other  great 
divisions  of  the  western  half  of  this  great  Republic.  The  climate  is 
delightful,  its  mountains  are  rich  in  mineral  resources,  and  its  valleys 
are  unexcelled  for  agricultural  purposes." 

The  Oregon  State  Journal  says  :  "  We  have  no  hesitation  in  saying 
that  Salt  Lake  City  is  situated  in  one  of  the  most  lovely  spots  we  have 
ever  seen  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  high,  snow-capped  mountains 
towering  above  the  city  and  the  valley  make  the  scenery  very  similar 
to  our  own  Willamette  Valley,  or  to  the  Sacramento  Valley  in  Califor- 
nia; but  the  altitude  is  so  much  greater  that  the  atmosphere  is  lighter, 
and  there  is  a  feeling  of  buoyancy  and  health  such  as  is  not  felt  in  the 
low  countries.  Salt  Lake  is  a  gem  among  the  great  central  mountain 
chain  of  America.  Its  climate  and  scenery  are  unsurpassed  for  health 
and  beauty  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  These  attractions,  and  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  the  soil,  will  no  doubt  make  it  the  home  of  a  numerous 
and  prosperous  population." 

The  editor  of  the  Merchants'  Review,  New  York  City,  says  : — "  It 
may  surprise  our  readers  to  hear  that  the  mines  of  Utah  have  yielded 
up  to  date  over  $100,000,000  worth  of  ores,  and  this  without  remark- 
able exertion.  With  its  delightful  climate,  fertile  soil,  and  ample  water 
supply,  there  is  little  doubt  that  an  abundance  of  capital  will  soon  flow 
into  the  Territory,  and  that  there  will  be  shortly  seen  an  era  of  pros- 
perity founded  upon  natural  resources  second  to  no  state  in  the 
Union." 

Another  editor  remarks  : — "  We  have  often  wondered  why  eastern 
capitalists  have  not  taken  interest  in  the  development  of  the  resources 
of  Utah.  The  natural  advantages  of  the  Territory  are  great,  abounding 
in  mineral  wealth,  great  fertility  of  soil,  and  with  a  climate  unsurpassed 
in  the  world.  Lands  are  cheap,  the  valleys  rich  in  productiveness,  and 
water  for  irrigation  abundant.  The  inhabitants  have  finer  orchards 


(10) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 


11 


and  a  greater  variety  of  fruit  and  vegetables  than  is  produced  in 
Southern  California,  the  land  of  the  'Boom  '." 

F.  B.  Brownell,  a  well  known  car  manufacturer,  says  : — "  The 
writer  had  the  pleasure  of  a  short  visit  to  your  city  in  February  last, 
and  feels  the  truth  of  the  statements  made  as  to  the  advantages  offered 
by  your  Territory  to  investors  and  immigrants,  and  he  would  not  hesi- 
tate to  recommend  it  to  any  friends  who  wish  to  go  West." 

To  the  foregoing  might  be  added  the  testimony  of  a  score  of  the 
most  prominent  journals,  including  the  New  York  World  and  Morning 
Journal;  the  Springfield,  Mass.,  Republican;  the  Cleveland  Plain 
Dealer;  the  Wilmington  Every  Evening;  the  Troy,  Ala.,  Messenger;  the 
Elkhorn,  Wis.,  Independent;  the  Black  Diamond,  Chicago;  the  Review 
and  Examiner,  Washington;  the  Record,  Seymour,  Conn.;  the  Mer- 
chants' Guide,  Philadelphia,  and  many  others  equally  influential  and 
reliable. 

The  editors  of  these  journals  are  disinterested  strangers  and  bear 
testimony  gratuitously  to  the  advantages  enjoyed  by  Salt  Lake.  There 
is  a  maxim  which  says  that  no  one  falsifies  gratuitously — "  Nemo  gratis 
mendax.'" 


(12) 


SALT    LAE   GIJPY. 


r  I  ^HE  whole  world  has  heard  of  Salt  Lake  City.  In  the  remotest 
corners  of  the  Old  World  its  existence  is,  perhaps,  better  known 
J-  than  that  of  the  metropolitan  cities  of  the  East.  Notwithstand- 
ing its  world-wide  reputation,  however,  its  charms,  attractions,  and 
advantages  are  little  known  or  understood  even  by  the  inhabitants  of 
neighboring  states  and  territories.  The  reasons  for  this  are  obvious. 
Of  all  the  states  and  territories  which  compose  the  Far  West,  Utah 
Territory,  of  which  Salt  Lake  is  the  capital,  ranks  first  in  the  history  of 
colonization.  Its  settlement  dates  back  to  1847,  prior  to  the  gold 
excitement  of  California;  but  the  religious  views  of  the  pioneers  who 
settled  it  differed  so  essentially  from  those  of  other  religious  bodies 
that  they  repelled  rather  than  attracted  the  many  home-seekers  who 
have  traveled  westward  during  the  last  forty  years  and  by  their  toil  and 
intelligence  added  hundreds  of  millions  to  the  wealth  of  the  nation. 
Prior  to  the  year  1871  the  original  settlers  virtually  lived  apart  from 
their  other  American  neighbors.  There  was  little  or  no  commingling, 
and  while  there  was  no  restraint  and  no  interference  with  personal 
liberty,  the  facility  with  which  land  could  be  obtained  elsewhere, 
coupled  with  the  prejudices  then  and  now  entertained  against  polygamy, 
ted  emigrants  and  others  to  seek  a  social  atmosphere  better  suited  to 
their  personal  requirements  and  more  in  accordance  with  their 
individual  .convictions. 

A  great  many  questions  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  reader  in 
connection  with  Utah  and  other  western  points  which  can  be  more 
easily  explained  and  answered  by  bearing  in  mind  that  the  West  in 
general  has  progressed  more  rapidly  during  the  last  ten  years  than 
during  the  thirty  years  previous,  and  to  this  fact  is  due  more  than  to 
aught  else  the  apparent  indifference  and  lack  of  interest  in  the  wonder- 

(13) 


(14) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  15 

ful  advantages  enjoyed  by  Salt  Lake  City.  The  original  pioneers  were 
unmolested  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  during  which  time  they 
grew  and  prospered  and  became  formidable  to  the  outside  world 
because  of  their  peculiar  religious  institutions,  which  bound  them 
together  as  a  unit  and  segregated  them  from  strangers  in  religion, 
politics,  business,  and  social  life.  With  the  discovery  of  mineral  wealth, 
however,  the  situation  changed,  and  for  twenty  years  the  gulches  and 
canons  and  hill-sides  have  been  attracting  the  gold-hunter,  until 
to-day  there  are  several  mining  camps  peopled  by  a  majority  of 
Gentiles.  The  policy  of  the  Mormon  Church  at  its  inception,  as  well  as 
at  the  present  time,  was  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  community, 
and  hence  mining  was  discountenanced.  So'  cardinal  a  maxim  of  the 
Mormon  creed  is  the  tilling  of  the  soil  that  mining  has  been  in  a 
measure  tabooed,  and  hence  the  mines  of  Utah  are  owned  and 
controlled  principally  by  Gentiles,  this  principle  being  so  far-reaching 
in  its  effect  that  few  if  any  Mormons  who  identified  themselves  with 
mining  have  persevered  in  their  allegiance  to  the  Church  until  the  last 
few  years.  To  mining  the  first  influx  of  Gentiles  in  any  number  is 
principally,  if  not  solely,  due,  and  with  the  development  of  this  industry 
the  Gentile  population  has  increased  until  at  the  present  date  the 
community  of  Salt  Lake  differs  but  little  from  any  other  in  its  social, 
business,  or  religious  aspects,  except  in  so  far  as  it  possesses  in  addition 
to  all  other  religious  elements  which  exist  elsewhere  one  which  differs 
from  all  others.  The  community  is  homogeneous  and  united  both  in 
purpose  and  in  action.  The  influence  of  the  progress  and  develop- 
ment of  the  last  ten  years  has  been  to  educate  the  people  in  regard  to 
the  disadvantages  of  their  position  when  divided  among  themselves 
upon  the  issues  by  which  the  prosperity  of  the  community  is  to  be 
measured.  Whatever  differences  prevail  at  present  concerning  other 
matters,  there  is  little  or  none  in  regard  to  the  advisability  and  necessity 
for  diffusing  information  concerning  our  extraordinary  resources,  and 
inviting  the  home-seeker  and  capitalist  to  avail  themselves  of  the  rare 
opportunities  here  afforded.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Utah 
the  business  men  in  the  principal  communities  have  agreed  upon  the 
necessity  of  inviting  capital  and  population  from  other  points  and  of 
entering  the  lists  as  competitors  with  the  progressive  cities  of  the  West, 
which,  though  more  pretentious  in  their  claims,  can  never  compare 
with  Salt  Lake  City  in  the  natural  wealth  of  its  resources  and  attrac- 
tions. That  Salt  Lake  has  been  overlooked  is  easily  understood  and 
explained.  Tourists  and  strangers  have  visited  the  city  and  have  been 


(W) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  ]  7 

so  absorbed  in  the  investigation  of  its  religious  and  social  features  that 
its  delightful  climate,  its  wealth  and  variety  of  mineral,  its  fertility  and 
productiveness  of  soil,  its  manifold  and  unequalled  attractions,  its  lakes 
and  mineral  springs,  its  charming  drives  and  avenues,  its  lovely  homes, 
and  all  the  other  blessings  which  make  it  the  loveliest  and  most  delight- 
ful spot  in  America,  have  been  little  considered.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
persons  have  come  and  gone,  having  gratified  their  curiosity  concerning 
the  institutions  of  Mormonism,  and,  surprised  after  their  departure  to 
learn  that  Salt  Lake  City  enjoyed  rare  advantages  that  might  appeal  to 
.self-interest,  again  returned  with  a  view  to  examine  into  its  material 
resources.  The  question  of  religion  has  overshadowed  every  other 
consideration,  and  as  a  result  the  ignorance  prevailing  in  regard  to  the 
advantages  we  possess  is  co-extensive  with  the  prejudice  that  exists 
concerning  the  character  of  the  community.  No  little  astonishment 
will  result,  therefore,  from  the  discovery  that  in  our  social  life  we  do  not 
differ  from  any  community  of  the  East,  and  that  Utah  can  compare 
favorably  with  any  state  or  territory  of  the  Union  in  the  wealth  of  its 
natural  resources  and  attractions. 

The  population  of  Salt  Lake  is  estimated  at  35,000.  The  city  is 
situated  at  the  base  of  the  Wasatch  Mountains,  which  are  a  part  of 
the  great  continental  range  dividing  the  Far  West  from  the  plains 
which  stretch  eastward  from  the  Rockies  to  the  Missouri  River.  The 
finest  residence  portion  of  the  city  occupies  the  mountain  bench  or 
plateau,  once  the  shores  of  a  great  inland  sea,  from  which  in  ages  past 
the  waters  receded  till  they  settled  in  the  basin  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake, 
distant  about  eighteen  miles  from  the  water-marks  now  seen  above  the 
city.  Utah  is  a  succession  of  valleys  varying  in  extent,  but  each  suffi- 
ciently large  to  support  a  population  greater  than  that  of  the  whole 
territory  at  the  present  time.  The  principal  valleys  in  the  North  are 
Cache,  Salt  Lake,  and  Utah,  which  are  not  only  the  best  watered  but 
the  most  thickly  settled  and  best  cultivated.  The  City  of  Salt  Lake 
derives  its  name  from  the  body  of  water  after  which  the  valley  is 
called  wherein  it  lies.  This  inland  sea,  which  covers  a  surface  area  of 
2,500  square  miles,  lies  directly  west  of  the  city,  extending  north  and 
south  nearly  a  hundred  miles.  From  its  bosom  rise  several  mountain- 
ous islands,  some  of  which  are  used  for  ranches  and  orchards,  and  sea 
and  islands  are  in  full  view  from  the  bench  land  of  the  city,  than 
which  there  is  no  more  beautiful  residence  site  in  the  world. 


(183 


TOPOGRAPHY. 

rj^OPOGRAPHICALLY,  Salt  Lake  is  so  situated  as  to  be  the 
natural  centre  of  supply  for  six  or  eight  states  and  territories. 
J-  To  the  north  lie  Idaho,  Montana,  and  Southeastern  Oregon; 
to  the  west,  Nevada  and  Southern  California  ;  and  to  the  south,  Utah 
and  Arizona,  while  Salt  Lake  merchants  are  to-day  competing  with 
Denver  rivals  in  the  eastern  and  southwestern  districts  of  Colorado. 
The  variety  and  abundance  of  raw  material  to  be  found  in  Utah 
establish,  beyond  peradventure,  the  claim  of  Salt  Lake  City  as  a  natural 
supply  centre  for  the  localities  mentioned.  In  passing,  it  may  be 
said  that  while  Southern  California  is  to-day  drawing  its  supply  of 
coal  from  Australia  and  other  distant  points,  there  are  coal  veins  in 
Iron  County,  Utah,  100  feet  in  thickness,  sufficient  to  supply  all 
California  for  generations.  In  addition  to  coal,  there  are  deposits  of 
iron  that  centuries  of  consumption  could  not  exhaust,  and  a  variety 
of  other  minerals  adapted  for  manufactures.  Within  the  borders  of 
Utah  are  to  be  found  deposits  so  curious  in  their  character  that  the 
uses  to  which  many  of  them  may  be  converted  are  yet  unknown. 
Among  other  materials  may  be  mentioned  gilsonite,  a  carbonaceous 
deposit  found  nowhere  else  in  the  United  States,  and  a  most  valuable 
substance.  Then  there  are  gypsum,  as  white  and  pure  as  can  be  found 
anywhere,  alum,  saltpetre,  gas  shale,  borax,  sulphur  in  vast  quantities, 
sulphate  of  soda,  black  graphite,  mica,  natural  wax — a  commodity 
imported  from  Europe  at  a  great  cost  and  a  perfect  substitute  for 
beeswax.  From  this  wax  candles  can  be  manufactured  superior  to  the 
finest  stearine  candles.  There  are  red  and  yellow  ochres  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  fire-proof  paints,  rock  salt,  marbles  and  stone  in  infinite 
variety  for  building  or  decorative  work,  and  a  number  of  things  to 
which  special  reference  will  be  made  elsewhere. 

(19) 


0.0) 


RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  21 

With  this  vast  and  varied  supply  of  raw  material,  is  there  any  room 
to  doubt  that  Salt  Lake  City  will  in  time  become  a  great  manufacturing 
center  for  the  localities  mentioned  ?  It  is  already  the  capital  and 
metropolis  of  Utah  and  the  centre  of  all  travel  to  and  from  the  Pacific 
coast.  It  enjoys  a  climate  unequalled  in  America,  and  a  water-supply 
sufficient,  if  properly  utilized,  to  set  thousands  of  wheels  in  motion. 
There  is  no  other  point  in  the  West  which  can  be  singled  out  as  a 
present  or  prospective  rival  of  Salt  Lake  City.  For  manufactures  of 
any  kind  there  is  no  point  in  America  so  well  supplied  with  raw  mate- 
rials. In  Colorado,  Arizona,  Montana,  Idaho,  and  Nevada  there  are 
many  valuable  gold,  silver,  and  lead  mines,  and  some  coal  and  iron;  but 
in  Utah  these  are  all  to  be  found,  and,  in  addition,  the  variety  of  min- 
eral and  chemical  substances  previously  mentioned,  many  of  which, 
though  far  inferior  in  quality,  are  imported  from  Europe  and  sold  in 
the  cities  of  the  East  for  manufacturing  and  chemical  purposes.  It 
has  only  been  within  the  past  year  that  there  has  been  any  great  incentive 
to  "prospecting"  for  more  than  precious  metals  in  Utah,  but  the  dis- 
coveries made  in  that  time  have  placed  the  Territory  ahead  of  any 
state  or  territory  in  the  West.  Treasures  of  gold  and  silver  have  been 
uncovered  the  extent  of  which  is  little  known  elsewhere;  but  Utah  soil 
conceals  more  than  the  precious  metals,  many  of  the  substances  being 
still  more  valuable,  mica  and  natural  wax,  for  instance,  being  sold  by 
the  pound  and  not  by  the  ton,  like  gold  and  silver-bearing  ores. 

With  the  superabundance  of  natural  resources  in  the  shape  of  raw 
materials  for  manufacturing  purposes  to  draw  from,  Salt  Lake  City  has 
no  fear  of  any  rival.  It  is  true  that  two  factors  essential  to  success 
are  still  missing — Capital  and  Population;  but  the  history  of  the  West 
during  the  past  ten  years  gives  assurance  of  a  large  growth  of  popu- 
lation in  the  near  future*  and  with  an  increase  of  population  may  be 
expected  an  increase  of  wealth. 

In  a  recent  number  of  the  North  American  Review  Charles  Dudley 
Warner,  while  descanting  on  the  merits  of  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin, 
which  had  appeared  so  remote  from  the  little  world  of  the  East 
in  which  he  had  always  lived,  and  with"which  his  ideas  of  culture  and 
greatness  were  exclusively  associated,  remarked  that  to  him,  even  to 
him,  the  great  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  had  been  nothing  more 
than  a  geographical  cipher.  The  changes  that  a  quarter  of  a  century 
has  brought  about  have  escaped  even  this  scholarly  gentleman,  and 
he  was  surprised  to  find  the  "  Wild  West "  possess  such  centres 
of  elegance,  wealth  and  refinement  as  Milwaukee,  St.  Paul,  and 


(22) 


RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE'CITY.  23 

Minneapolis.  But  he  might  have  traveled  a  few  thousand  miles  further 
and  been  yet  more  surprised  at  the  changes  which  have  been  wrought 
during  the  last  ten  years  in  the  Far  West.  In  this  connection  the  fol- 
lowing from  the  Salt  Lake  correspondence  of  an  eastern  journal  may 
be  worthy  of  attention:  ''Wonderful  changes  are  wrought  in  a  few 
years,  yet  the  possibility  and  even  the  certainty  of  such  changes  taking 
place  are  frequently  disregarded.  Twenty  years  have  not  elapsed  since 
the  first  railroad  crossed  the  Mississippi  at  St.  Louis,  and  in  that  time 
what  changes  have  been  wrought  throughout  the  West!  Chicago  has 
increased  in  population  150  per  cent.,  and  in  wealth,  industry,  and  com- 
mercial traffic  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  marts  of  the  world; 
St.  Louis,  with  its  slow  growth  and  conservative  methods,  has  added 
50  per  cent,  to  its  population.  Kansas  City  and  Omaha  have  grown 
from  small  villages  to  grand  metropolitan  cities.  Denver  has  become 
one  of  the  beauty  spots  of  America.  The  plains  of  Kansas  and  Texas 
have  been  covered  with  prosperous  communities;  the  slopes  of  Cali- 
fornia have  been  peopled  with  the  possessors  of  wealth  and  refinement 
garnered  in  the  East;  and  the  territories,  some  of  which  have  been 
acquired  by  the  nation  in  that  time,  have  been  so  rapidly  settled  that 
many  of  them  to-day  are  presenting  their  claims  for  federation  with 
the  Union  as  independent  states.  What  fortunes  have  been  made  and 
lost  while  such  changes  were  taking  place!  How  many  millionaires 
have  appeared  in  that  time!  And  it  is  not  necessary  to  be  a  prophet 
to  predict  that  the  end  has  not  yet  come.  The  opportunities  to-day 
are  as  great  as  they  were  twenty  years  ago.  There  is  plenty  of  virgin 
soil  upon  our  plains  and  valleys,  and  the  treasures  of  our  mountains 
have  not  been  all  uncovered.  As  the  populations  grow  thicker  their 
wants  increase,  and  the  greater  is  the  demand  for  energy  and  intelli- 
gence. Young  men  are  apt  to  be  indifferent  to  these  considerations; 
they  are  absorbed  in  the  present  and  do  not  stop  to  think  of  the  fleet- 
ness  of  time  and  the  important  changes  which  a  few  years  may  bring. 
"  I  have  said  that  it  is  less  than  twenty  years  since  a  railroad  was 
built  across  the  Mississippi.  I  might  supplement  this  by  saying  that 
all  the  great  changes  that  have  been  wrought  between  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Pacific  have  occurred  within  ten  years.  Where  were  the 
Kansas  City,  the  Omaha,  the  Denver  of  the  present,  ten  years  ago  ? 
And  Los  Angeles,  San  Diego,  San  Jose,  Portland,  and  the  many  pros- 
perous cities  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  five  years  ago  ?  It  is  only  necessary 
to  reflect  a  few  minutes  on  these  changes  to  realize  the  possibilities 
which  are  in  store  for  our  inter-mountain  region." 


;  <J&/  V 

V  "•/>•* 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 


25 


There  is  much  food  for  thought  in  the  growth  of  the  West  for  the 
past  ten  years.  Has  the  tide  of  immigration  ceased  to  flow  ?  With 
all  the  territories  asking  for  statehood  because  of  their  possession  of 
the  necessary  qualification?,  is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
changes  in  the  next  five  years  will  not  be  more  marked  and  significant 
than  in  the  last  ten  ?  Are  all  the  great  trunk  lines  of  railroad  stayed 
at  the  eastern  base  of  the  Rockies  ?  or  do  they  intend  to  reach  out  for 
a  share  of  the  enormous  passenger  and  freight  traffic  of  which  one  or 
two  roads  have  now  a  monopoly  between  the  Mountains  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean  ?  Salt  Lake  City  is  the  only  point  between  Denver  and 
San  Francisco  towards  which  the  intervening  territory  looks  as  a 
supply  centre.  Is  it  going  to  maintain  this  supremacy,  or  what  rival  is 
likely  to  arise  ?  A  rival  is  simply  impossible,  not  only  because  of  its 
situation,  which  shuts  out  all  competition  from  the  North  and  South, 
but  especially  for  the  reason  that  there  is  no  locality  in  the  West  so 
thoroughly  and  perfectly  equipped  with  everything  that  enters  into  the 
manufacture  of  marketable  supplies. 


(36) 


SOCIAL   LIPS. 

SOME  very  strange  as  well  as  absurd  and  erroneous  views  are 
entertained  by  people  throughout  the  East  in  reference  to  the 
character  of  Salt  Lake  citizens.  Forgetting  that  there  is  no 
folly  too  great  for  a  philosopher  to  defend,  they  expect  to  find  "  Mor- 
mons "  a  peculiar  and  distinctly  different  people  in  appearance  and 
manner  from  other  American  citizens.  How  very  prevalent  this  view 
is  may  be  learned  from  the  curious  enquiries  of  strangers  visiting  Salt 
Lake.  In  Denver,  a  few  weeks  since,  the  writer  met  and  conversed 
with  a  prominent  physician,  a  University  graduate,  who  in  the  course 
of  conversation  remarked  :  "  I  know  it  is  very  absurd,  but  there  is 
something  which  leads  me  to  expect  to  find  some  physical  difference 
between  Mormons  and  other  persons.  Almost  instinctively  one  looks 
for  some  peculiar  characteristics  that  would  distinguish  them  from  all 
others."  If  men  of  intelligence  entertain  such  views,  what  may  be 
expected  of  those  whose  ignorance  is  exaggerated  by  prejudice? 

It  is  very  commonly  supposed  that  Salt  Lake  City  is  peopled  but  by 
one  class  of  citizens,  and  hence,  because  of  existing  prejudices,  that 
the  social  and  civic  life  of  the  community  is  not  marked  by  the  culture, 
religious  sentiment,  and  refinement  of  other  communities.  The  follow- 
ing newspaper  correspondence,  prepared  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  will  show  the  absurdity  of  such  views  : 

"  For  a  long  time  Salt  Lake  has  been  generally  regarded  as  the  scene  of  incessant 
wrangling  and  social  strife — as  a  hot-bed  of  lawlessness  and  turbulent  dissension.  The 
opinion  that  the  lives  and  liberties  of  individuals  are  unsafe  here  is  not  yet  an  uncommon 
one,  and  this  opinion  is  not  confined  to  the  ignorant  or  inexperienced.  Within  a  few  weeks 
I  have  heard  the  statement  made  in  public  by  a  gentleman  of  intelligence  and  extensive 
business  experience,  that  notwithstanding  his  great  curiosity  to  visit  our  city  he  had 

(27) 


28  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

gone  on  to  the  Pacific  Coast  by  way  of  Ogden,  fearing  maltreatment  in  Salt  Lake. 
The  views  and  fears  of  this  gentleman  are  still  entertained  by  multitudes  in  the  East. 
There  are  many  who  look  on  the  citizens  of  our  city  and  Territory  as  a  bastard  branch 
of  the  human  family  whose  strange  ideas  and  uncouth  customs  unfit  them  for  affiliation 
with  civilized  communities.  How  absurd  and  unjust  are  these  notions  is  well  under- 
stood by  those  who  have  visited  us.  There  is  no  community  of  its  size  in  America 
that  can  boast  of  greater  peace  than  Salt  Lake,  no  people  amongst  whom  a  greater 
love  ot  order  prevails.  The  offenders  against  our  municipal  regulations  are  few — fewer 
by  far  than  in  much  smaller  communities,  notwithstanding  the  numerous  mining  camps 
by  which  we  are  surrounded  on  every  side,  and  from  which  we  daily  receive  many 
visitors.  There  are  no  thieves  or  burglars  amongst  us  ;  the  sand-bag  and  the  slung- 
shot  are  unheard  of ;  se'dom,  if  ever,  is  a  citizen  who  pretends  to  respectability  seen 
staggering  through  the  streets  under  the  influence  of  liquor.  We  have  no  daughters  of 
shame  whose  practices  are  sanctioned  by  the  law  under  the  guise  of  a  periodical  fine  ; 
there  are  no  harlots  in  our  jails  or  workhouses  to  bear  evidence  of  the  libertinism  or 
debauchery  of  any  class  of  our  citizens.  Industry  and  honesty  are  characteristic  of  our 
people,  and  God  is  worshipped  in  accordance  with  the  free  dictates  of  each  one's  con- 
science. The  Catholic,  the  Presbyterian,  the  Baptist,  the  Methodist,  the  Episcopalian, 
the  Reorganized,  and  the  Mormon  churches  have  all  their  separate  temples,  and  all  are 
well  attended.  The  Catholics  alone  have  a  bishop  and  six  priests,  and  yet  not  too 
many  to  attend  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  their  people.  And  it  is  not  a  proof  of  our  lack 
of  -civilized  refinement  that  our  city  is  considered  the  best  of  its  size  in  America  for  the 
patronage  of  theatricals  and  other  stage  entertainments.  For  music  our  fame  has 
reached  to  the  far  East,  and  some  of  our  talent  has  been  lured  away  long  distances  for 
the  delectation  of  communities  the  surroundings  of  which  lend  less  inspiration  to  genius. 
In  the  arts  even  cultured  Boston  must  pay  homage  to  a  child  of  Utah  whose  genius  as 
a  sculptor  has  elicited  their  applause.  In  painting  we  have  several  of  unpretentious 
talents  whose  works  would  add  beauty  to  the  studios  and  galleries  of  any  American 
city.  In  the  refinement  of  home  and  social  life  no  stranger  has  ever  found  us  wanting, 
nor  is  any  greater  proof  needed  of  our  education  in  this  respect  than  the  natural  loveli- 
ness of  our  city,  embowered  during  the  summer  season  in  foliage  and  flowers. 

"  The  absurdity  of  the  opinions  entertained  concerning  us  is  evidenced  by  the 
surprise  of  every  stranger  who  visits  us.  They  find  courtesy  and  kindness  where  they 
expected  to  find  rudeness  and  hostility,  and  discover  with  astonishment  that  refinement 
and  intelligence  are  not  incompatible  with  the  profession  or  practice  of  orthodox  or 
heterodox  religion. 

"Strange  opinions  are  entertained  in  the  East  in  regard  to  the  people  of  the  West, 
but  these  opinions  are  still  more  strangely  deformed  in  regard  to  the  people  of  Utah. 
Horace  Greeley's  injunction  to  go  West  has  been  interpreted  for  the  most  part  in  such  a 
manner  that  young  men  of  immature  minds  and  limited  experience  have  grown  to 
imagine  that  the  West  is  strangely  in  need  of  their  intelligent  services;  that,  like  Topsy, 
the  people  here  have  'growed,'  and  have  not  been  trained  under  the  influences  of  the 
home,  the  school,  and  the  church.  The  surprise  of  these  people  on  visiting  the  cities 
of  the  West  is  only  proportioned  to  their  previous  ignorance  of  our  condition,  and 
many  is  the  youth  whose  hopes  of  becoming  a  Congressman  or  Senator  from  the  West, 
or  administering  the  laws  with  dignity  from  the  bench  for  the  government  and  enlight- 
enment of  a  benighted  people,  have  been  blasted  only  by  a  visit  to  our  mountain  homes. 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  29 

"  Salt  Lake,  though  one  of  the  most  favored  spots  by  nature  in  America,  and  though 
populated  by  a  class  of  citizens  whose  business  ability,  intelligence,  and  refinement 
easily  make  them  the  peers  of  even  enlightened  New  Englanders,  has  heretofore  labored 
under  serious  disadvantages.  The  beauties  and  attractions  of  our  city  have  been  hidden 
under  clouds  of  prejudice  and  distrust.  The  outside  world  seemed  more  interested  in 
us  because  of  our  opinions  on  religion  and  politics  than  because  of  our  material 
resources  or  of  the  extraordinary  advantages  we  possess. 

"  There  are  those  East  whose  prejudices  and  distorted  imagination  clothe  our  citizens 
in  costumes  different  from  the  garb  of  American  citizens  elsewhere,  and  people  our 
beautiful  cities  and  valleys  with  ruffians  and  desperadoes.  What  wonder,  then,  that 
we  have  been  ignored — that  cities  metropolitan  in  character  and  appearance  have 
sprung  up  around  us,  the  most  favored  of  which  did  not  possess  a  tithe  of  our  natural 
advantages  ?  Our  American  communities  are  not  built  from  within.  We  have  plenty 
of  unbroken  soil  in  Utah,  and  vast  resources  that  can  become  available  only  through 
outside  capital.  Our  inhabitants  are  for  the  most  part  pioneers,  being  indebted  for 
their  possessions  to  their  own  energy  and  intelligence.  Their  original  business  has 
grown,  but  remains  the  same  in  character,  and  with  increasing  cares  they  are  forced  to 
let  others  enter  upon  the  newer  fields  of  investment  which  are  being  opened. 

"  Communities  are  not  unlike  individuals  in  their  conceits.  There  are  some  business 
men  and  men  occupying  local  positions  who  proudly  imagine  that  their  fame  has  spread 
far  and  wide,  and  that  they  need  no  trumpet  to  make  known  to  the  world  their  talents 
and  resources.  It  does  not  occur  to  them  in  their  self-esteem  that  a  hundred  miles  from 
the  scene  of  their  operations  others  may  be  more  famous  than  they.  The  world  we 
live  in  is  not  so  big  but  it  conceals  a  great  many  unknown  quantities,  and  Salt  Lake,  with 
its  vast  resources  and  unlimited  attractions,  may  be  numbered  amongst  them.  We 
want  people  to  know  us  as  we  are,  and  not  as  they  suppose  us  to  be  ;  and  when  we 
become  so  known  surprise  and  admiration  will  succeed  to  the  indifference  with  which 
we  have  been  considered  in  the  past.  From  every  side  now  comes  the  announcement 
that  the  ouside  world  is  growing  interested  in  Salt  Lake.  I  only  hope  that  this  interest 
will  bring  us  citizens  who  will  find  more  than  town  lots  in  which  to  speculate.  Our 
people  do  not  need,  or  desire,  a  real  estate  '  Boom.'  What  they  need  is  the  develop- 
ment of  the  vast  resources  hidden  in  our  mountains.  And  how  proud  we  can  feel  at 
being  able  to  say  that  the  resources  and  attractions  of  our  Territory  are  unequalled  in 
abundance  and  variety  in  any  State  of  the  Union!  Our  mountains  have  not  been 
much  prospected,  but  the  immigration  to  the  West  has  become  an  incentive  under 
which  new  discoveries  are  being  constantly  made.  Everyone  is  surprised  at  the  show- 
ing which  Utah  can  already  make — a  showing  which,  in  our  incipient  development,  can 
not  be  excelled  by  any  of  our  neighboring  states  or  territories." 


(30) 


CLIMATE  OP  SALT  LA^E   GITY. 

OF  Utah's  climate,  let  the  following  report  of  Doctors  Hamilton 
and  Standart,  on  behalf  of  the  Committee  on  Climatic  and 
Sanitary  Affairs  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  bear  evi- 
dence. If  any  guaranty  of  its  correctness  were  needed  other  than 
the  facts  and  figures  presented,  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  reputation 
enjoyed  by  the  gentlemen  who  prepared  it  among,  their  professional 
brethren  throughout  the  United  States. 

"  That  we  have  in  Utah,  or  more  particularly  in  the  '  Great  Salt 
Lake  Basin,'  a  climate  peculiarly  local  and  of  a  quality  conducive  to 
good  health  and  long  life  is  a  well-established  fact. 

"  We  possess  those  qualities  of  climate  evolved  in  dryness,  eleva- 
tion, and  tonicity  of  the  air  which  contribute  so  much  to  the  common 
good  of  a  community  at  large  and  as  well  to  the  restoration  of  the 
invalid  in  search  of  such  benign  influences.  Further,  those  qualities 
of  climate  so  essential  to  the  comfort  and  restoration  of  the  invalid 
exert  as  well  a  beneficial  and  indeed  a  moderating  influence  over 
diseases  in  general  peculiar  to  mankind. 

"  Now,  conceding  the  fact  that  our  inherent  qualities  of  climate 
redound  to  the  general  good,  we  will  proceed  to  cite  wherein  these 
inherent  qualities  as  evolved  in  elevation,  dryness,  tonicity  of  the 
air,  etc.,  apply  to  the  benefit  and  prolongation  of  the  life  of  the 
invalid.  In  speaking  of  the  invalid  in  the  general  sense,  we  mean 
more  particularly  the  consumptive  ;  and  of  all  diseases  consumption 
cuts  the  widest  swath  in  the  '  mowing  down '  of  the  human  family  ; 
or,  as  Dr.  James  Henry  Bennett  puts  it  in  speaking  of  pulmonary 
consumption,  it  is  '  simply  a  mode  of  dying.' 

(31) 


32  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

"  When  we  reflect  upon  the  seriousness  of  this  statement,  and 
recognize  the  stern  fact  that  the  mortuary  tables  of  the  world  charge 
over  one-eighth  of  the  deaths  to  this  disease,  we  can  indeed  say 
*a  mode  of  dying  !  '  —  a  slow  death  commencing  in  the  lungs. 

"  Taken  collectively,  all  forms  and  degrees  of  phthisis  are  most  likely 
to  be  arrested  in  dry  and  comparatively  cool  climates.  The  tabulated 
evidence  thus  far  formulated  is  decidedly  against  moist  climates;  in 
fact,  the  addition  of  damp  only  makes  warmth  tell  the  more  unfavor- 
ably. The  question  arises,  What  is  the  percentage  of  humidity  in  the 
atmosphere  of  the  *  Great  Salt  Lake  Basin  ?' 

"  Before  answering  this  question  it  would  be  well  to  cite  the  fact  that 
it  is  not  always  the  countries  or  seasons  of  least  rainfalls  that  have  the 
driest  atmospheres.  To  illustrate  —  the  percentage  of  humidity  at  Salt 
Lake  City  is  67  in  winter  and  45  in  the  spring,  yet  the  rainfall  of  spring 
is  twice  that  of  winter.  What  is  of  interest  to  know  is  whether  the 
atmosphere  is  habitually  dry  or  moist,  and  that  is  not  always  shown  by 
the  quantity  of  precipitation.  The  great  bulk  of  our  population  is 
situated  in  valleys  not  exceeding  4,500  feet  elevation,  and  these  valleys 
are  protected  by  the  close  proximity  of  mountain  ranges. 

"  In  these  valleys  the  atmosphere  is  dry,  elastic,  transparent,  and 
possessed  of  wonderful  tonicity,  and  the  temperature  compares  favor- 
ably in  respect  of  equability  with  Colorado  and  the  territories  north 
and  south  of  Utah. 

"  A  record  of  the  readings  of  the  thermometer  was  kept  at  Camp 
Douglas,  three  miles  east  and  500  feet  above  the  city,  from  1863  to  the 
establishment  of  a  signal  station  here,  in  all,  covering  twenty-four 
years.  From  these  records  it  appears  that  the  extreme  yearly  range 
has  been  less  than  90°  oftener  than  it  has  been  100°  or  more.  At 
Montreal  the  annual  range  is  140°,  New  York  City  114°,  St.  Louis 
J33Q>  Chicago  132°,  at  Denver,  Colorado,  126°,  while  at  Salt  Lake 
City,  Utah,  it  has  exceeded  100°  but  three  times  in  twenty  -four  years;  and 
•excluding  the  past  year,  or  rather  January  of  the  present,  descended 
below  zero  only  thirteen  times  in  the  same  number  of  years. 

"  The  average  high  extreme  for  these  years  was  about  97  -J°,  the 
average  low  extreme  4°  above  zero,  making  the  average  annual  range 


"  The  average  humidity  in  Salt  Lake  City  for  the  year  —  and  here  we 
answer  the  question  above  propounded  in  this  article  —  is  43  per  cent. 
of  saturation.  At  Denver  it  is  46,  at  Philadelphia  73.  In  the  spring, 
.summer,  and  autumn  it  is  37,  while  in  summer  it  is  but  28.5°. 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  33 

u  From  these  figures  we  believe  the  conclusion  can  be  drawn  that  we 
possess,  right  here  in  the  Great  Salt  Lake  Basin,  a  *  mean  '  of  tempera- 
ture which  cannot  be  approached  by  other  and  at  present  time  more 
favored  localities — *  favored  '  in  the  popular  sense. 

"  There  is  hardly  a  day  but  what  our  atmosphere  is  tempered  by  sun- 
shine; it  is  free  from  mist  and  fog,  it  possesses  the  combined  properties 
of  purity  and  rarity  and  the  further  stimulus  to  breathe  it  engendered 
in  elevation.  It  might  be  added,  the  Great  Salt  Lake  Basin  enjoys 
immunity  from  high  winds  and  severe  electric  storms  ;  the  cyclones 
peculiar  to  some  of  our  western  states  and  territories  are  not  known  in 
Utah.  The  total  march  of  the  winds  over  Salt  Lake  City  does  not 
exceed  50,000  miles  in  a  year.  It  is  more  than  100,000  miles  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  in  excess  of  150,000  miles  on  the  open  ocean.  • 

"  A  place  or  locality  to  be  a  sanitarium  in  the  curative  sense  should 
possess  an  exhilarating  atmosphere;  it  is  what  the  consumptive  craves 
and  thrives  upon;  indeed,  his  system  seems  to  cry  out  for  'more  air.' 
The  property  of  exhilaration  born  of  purity  and  rarity  of  atmosphere  is 
an  ever  constant  factor.  We  find  an  increase  in  the  force  of  the  cir- 
culation, stimulation  of  the  respiratory  sense  with  increase  in  the 
normal  oxidation  of  the  blood,  together  with  general  improvement  in 
the  body-nutrition. 

"  The  climate  of  a  mountainous  country  like  Utah  will  vary  consid- 
erably with  its  varying  altitudes  and  exposures;  hence  the  invalid  can 
elect  a  climate  in  kind  and  degree  which  seems  best  adapted  to  his 
condition.  He  will  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  moisture  decreases  with 
progressive  rarefaction  and,  consequently,  elevation;  further,  that  heat 
lessens  the  number  of  respirations  per  minute,  also  their  depth;  hence 
the  degree  of  lung  expansion  is  proportionately  diminished.  Contra, 
he  will  note  that  he  breathes  more  times  per  minute  as  he  attains  alti- 
tude, that  he  breathes  deeper  and  expands  his  air  cells  relatively  greater, 
and  thus  supplies  more  oxygen  to  his  tissues.  Practically,  he  uses  his 
lungs  more  at  an  elevation  of  4000-6000  feet  than  at  sea  level,  where 
atmospheric  conditions  do  not  supply  the  necessary  stimulus.  Thus 
the  invalid,  from  the  very  nature  of  his  surroundings,  is  made  to  take 
his  medicine  and  to  take  it  in  a  most  agreeable  way:  his  heart  quickens 
with  elevation,  and  hence  there  is  an  increased  supply  of  oxygen 
through  the  agency  of  the  blood  to  the  lungs,  the  brain,  etc.,  all  of 
which  means  an  improvement  in  the  body-nutrition. 

"  Upon  this  basis  of  reasoning  we  can  make  the  plain  statement,  and 
it  cannot  be  controverted,  that  we  as  individuals  and  as  a  people — 


(M) 


RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE   CITY.  35 

subject  to  the  manifold  blessings  so  lavishly  bestowed  upon  the  section 
where  we  live  and  have  our  being — can  work  harder  and  accomplish 
more  with  less  '  wear  and  tear  '  in  Utah  than  anywhere  else  in  the  inhab- 
itable globe.  With  a  fair  endowment  of  brains  as  working  capital,  we 
can  think  faster;  with  brawny  arms  backed  by  inherent  energy,  we  can 
expend  more  force  with  less  fatigue,  and  render  at  sun-down  a  day  and 
a  quarter  for  a  day's  work  without  unusual  effort.  We  can  eat  and 
assimilate  more  and  sleep  better  in  Utah  than  the  average  man  else- 
where ;  in  brief,  while  we  cannot  exactly  subsist  and  live  upon  '  rarefied 
air  and  hope,'  we  do  claim  that  under  the  stimulus  of  local  conditions 
of  climate,  etc.,  we  can  return — other  things  being  equal — in  thought 
and  force  more  and  better  work  than  the  average  of  mankind  in  less 
fortunately  endowed  localities. 

"The  fact  must  not  be  inferred  that,  in  endorsing  the  climate  of  Utah 
and  its  inherent  virtues  and  benefits,  we  have  nothing  but  climate.  Far 
from  it!  We  have  the  richest  producing  mines  of  the  world;  indeed, 
since  minerals  have  been  discovered  in  the  mountains  of  Utah  we  have 
turned  out  over  100,000,000  of  dollars  in  bullion. 

"  We  have  a  vast  acreage  for  stock,  for  agriculture,  etc.,  and  an 
abundance  of  water  rushing  down  our  mountain  sides  and  through 
deep  canons,  much  of  it  now  running  to  waste  for  want  of  utilization. 

"We  live  in  nature's  sanitarium;  we  are  subjected  to  healthful  influ- 
ences; we  dwell  under  a  cloudless  sky.  In  the  localization  of  the  most 
favorable  climatic  properties — dryness,  coolness,  and  diathermancy  of  the 
atmosphere,  we  find  the  'Ideal  Climate.'  In  the  elucidation  of  these 
views  we  owe  much  to  the  wide  experience  and  original  researches  of 
Doctor  Charles  Denison,  of  Colorado,  than  whom  there  is  no  better 
authority  on  meteorology  as  applied  to  climato-therepy  in  its  practical 
bearing  upon  diseases  of  the  respiratory  organs. 

"  Our  '  Ideal  Climate '  is  made  comprehensive  in  its  influence  through 
the  varied  topography  of  this  inter-mountain  region.  The  cool  fresh 
air  of  the  mountains,  light  and  pure;  the  peculiarly  local  atmosphere 
of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  ' maritime  '  in  quality;  together  with  the  shel- 
tered situation,  the  distance  inland,  and  the  elevation  above  sea  level — 
all  of  these  conditions  have  combined  to  give  us  what  some  travelers 
have  imagined  they  have  found  here,  'the  most  unique  and  wonderful 
climate  on  the  face  of  the  globe.'  While  not  especially  adopting  this 
verdict  as  ours,  we  do  not  object  to  it,  but  leave  the  facts  developed 
by  the  meteorological  record  as  herein  presented  to  speak  for  themselves. 


City  Hall. 


County  Jail. 


(36) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  37 

"  We  have  in  the  proximity  of  '  The  Great  Salt  Lake,'  occupying  as 
it  does  2,500  square  miles  of  the  Basin,  a  '  moderator  '  of  extremes  of 
heat  and  cold.  It  spares  us  through  atmospheric  conditions  peculiarly 
local  an  inordinately  high  degree  of  humidity  necessarily  belonging  to 
'  maritime  '  climates  proper  ;  further,  we  are  spared  in  a  measure  the 
extremes  of  heat  and  cold  so  characteristic  of  some  sections  of  Arizona, 
New  Mexico,  and  Colorado.  We  are  still  further  protected  by  the  close 
proximity  of  the  mountains  to  the  north  and  east. 

"  It  is  a  physiological  truth  that  the  human  organism  cannot  stand 
great  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  without  damage — assuming  of  course 
that  such  conditions  of  the  atmosphere  are  long  continued  and  constant. 
A  high  degree  of  heat  throws  a  physiological  strain  upon  the  liver,  the 
digestive  system,  the  skin,  the  brain,  etc.,  which  strain  may  be  consid- 
ered abnormal.  Contra,  intense  cold  throws  a  physiological  strain  upon 
the  lungs. 

"  Phthisis  does  not  originate  here,  and  where  the  monthly  fluctuation 
of  the  thermometer  does  not  exceed  50°,  and  the  mean  monthly  tern, 
perature  is  at  or  within  limits  above  50°,  and  the  humidity  is  under  50 
per  cent.,  a  residence  is  beneficial  to  consumptives  if  commenced  early 
enough. 

"  The  beneficial  influence  of  Utah  air  on  asthma  is  very  decided  ;  it 
cannot  exist  except  in  a  relieved  and  modified  condition.  Rheumatic 
fevers  are  scattered  over  the  months  without  reference  to  season;  but 
very  few  cases  become  chronic. 

"The  intermittents  are  'imported,'  and  the  tendency  is  to  longer 
periods  and  ultimate  recovery. 

"A  remittent  form  of  fever  called  'mountain  fever  '  is  indigenous. 
It  usually  yields  readily  to  treatment.  The  effect  of  our  local  climate 
upon  diseases  in  general  is  modifying.  The  summer  heat  is  not  debil- 
itating; the  dry  pure  air  and  the  cool  invigorating  nights  enable  patients 
to  withstand  the  shock  of  surgical  operations  that  could  not  often  be 
safely  attempted  in  humid  climes.  Indeed,  we  as  a  people — a  com- 
munity at  large — can  retire  to  refreshing  sleep  to  waken  with  renewed 
life  and  energy,  to  begin  another  day  prepared  for  the  grand  struggle 
for  subsistence.  The  people  of  Utah — to  the  manor  born — are  as 
robust  and  long-lived  as  any  in  the  world.  No  city  that  we  are  aware 
of  excels  Salt  Lake  City  in  the  matter  of  natural  advantages  for  the 
physical  well-being  of  its  citizens.  From  ocean  to  ocean  no  city  that 
we  are  aware  of  has  been  dealt  with  more  kindly  by  nature.  We  have 
a  great  inland  sea  rolling  at  our  feet  possessing  inherent  virtues  in  its 


(38) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  39 

waters  essentially  tonic  and  invigorating  to  the  general  system.  We 
have  thermal  springs  in  the  suburbs  of  varying  degrees  of  temperature 
and  of  varied  properties.  We  have  the  sunshine  peculiar  to  a  dry  cli- 
mate, and  we  thrive  upon  it.  It  is  an  old  Dutch  proverb  that  'paint 
costs  nothing/  such  are  its  preserving  qualities  in  damp  climates.  Well, 
sunshine  as  it  comes  to  us  through  a  clear,  pure  atmosphere,  and  from 
a  cloudless  sky,  costs  less  and  is  of  finer  pigment;  it  reflects  cheerful- 
ness and  makes  the  world  smile,  and  those  so  fortunate  as  to  be  sub- 
jected to  its  benign  influences  well  and  happy!  What  more  could 
nature  do  for  us  ?  " 

Strong  and  forcible  as  is  the  foregoing  testimonial,  the  following 
from  the  St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat  of  Sept.  9,  1887,  is  the  best  com- 
mentary on  Utah's  climate  that  could  be  submitted: 

SALT  LAKE  CITY,  September  i,  1887. — Among  the  curiosities  of  Mormondom 
are  its  old  people  It  is  an  absolute  pleasure  to  look  upon  them.  Dozens  of  men  in 
their  eighties  may  be  seen  on  the  streets  every  day.  Hale  and  hearty  old  fellows  they 
are,  with  gray  beards  and  broad  shoulders,  and  they  do  not  appear  to  be  over  fifty. 
Some  of  them  are  Mormon  bishops;  nearly  all  are  elders,  and  not  a  few  are  polyga- 
mists.  Look  at  the  late  John  Taylor,  who  was  four-score,  and  he  had  seven  wives. 
Examine  the  records  of  the  Utah  Penitentiary,  and  there  will  be  found  many  men  in 
the  sixties  who  served,  or  are  now  serving,  six  months'  terms  for  unlawful  cohabitation. 
The  apostle  Lorenzo  Snow,  who  is  in  his  seventy  seventh  year,  was  in  the  "pen"  for 
nine  months,  and  might  have  been  there  longer  had  not  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  come  to  his  relief  and  helped  him  out.  In  the  Tabernacle  on  Sunday  afternoon 
hundreds  of  white  heads  and  faces,  sanctified  by  age,  greet  the  eyes,  and  there  seems 
to  be  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  what  Eliza  R.  Snow  said  to  me  the  other  day  when  refer- 
ence was  made  to  her  great  age:  "  We  Mormons  believe  it  is  our  duty  to  live  past 
seventy."  "  Miss"  Snow  is  eighty-three,  but  as  quickwitted  and  as  active  on  her  feet 
as  many  a  woman  of  less  than  sixty.  She  throws  off  a  poem  occasionally,  and  writes 
a  book  whenever  the  notion  takes  her.  But,  as  I  have  already  written  about  "  Miss  " 
Snow  in  a  previous  letter,  I  will  pass  her  by  with  this  mention.  Many  of  the  under- 
grounders  who  have  been  evading  the  officers  of  the  law  for  several  years  past  are 
either  octogenarians  or  far  advanced  septuagenarians.  They  are  every  bit  as  spry  as 
the  younger  fellows  in  keeping  out  of  the  way  of  the  authorities.  Most  of  these  old 
folks  belong  to  the  pioneer  days,  and  came  to  Salt  Lake  Valley  when  there  was  noth- 
ing here  but  sage  brush  and  alkali  plains.  Some  of  them  have  footed  it  six  or  seven 
times  across  what  was  then  the  Great  American  Desert  to  the  Missouri  River,  and  I 
believe  that  if  there  was  a  revelation  announced  to-night  calling  on  all  the  seventy  and 
eighty-year-olds  in  Utah  to  mount  shank's  mare  and  start  for  Omaha  in  the  old  prim- 
itive way,  there  would  not  be  a  solitary  saint  or  sinner  among  them  who  would  plead 
age  or  hesitate  about  going.  The  majority  have  been,  and  still  are,  in  a  sense,  agricul- 
turists. They  have  found  Ponce  de  Leon's  fountain  of  youth  in  the  scent  of  the  clover 
fields  and  the  breaths  of  snow  that  blow  from  the  Wasatch  Mountains.  They  have 
led  temperate,  frugal  lives,  and  the  sap  and  strength  of  the  soil  have  grown  into  their 
structures  and  systems.  It  would  do  anybody  good  to  look  at  them.  And  Utah  ic 


40  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE     CITY. 

proud  of  them!  so  proud  that  she  gives  them  the  very  best  care  and  awards  them  the 
same  generous  attention  that  petted  children  always  receive. 

There  are  many  pretty  ideas  in  the  Mormon  system  of  religion,  and  one  of  the 
prettiest,  I  think,  is  the  glorious  meed  of  admiration  for  which  the  old  folks  come  in. 
In  addition  to  the  care  and  attention  bestowed  upon  them  in  the  way  of  providing  for 
their  regular  wants,  one  day  in  each  year  is  set  apart  for  them,  and  it  is  called  "  Old 
Folks'  Day."  The  late  Edward  Hunter,  who  was  the  presiding  bishop  of  the  Mormon 
Church  from  1850  to  1883,  and  who  himself  died  in  the  latter  year  at  the  advanced-age 
of  ninety,  conceived  the  plan  of  giving  every  man  and  woman  over  seventy  years  of 
age  in  the  neighborhood  of  Salt  Lake  City  a  day's  outing  each  year.  He  instituted 
Old  Folks'  Day  in  1875,  and  it  has  been  a  success  ever  since.  The  idea  has  been 
adopted  in  other  parts  of  the  Territory,  and  lately  some  enthusiasts  have  done  some 
vigorous  writing  in  behalf  of  establishing  a  national  old  folks'  day,  when  the  cities  of 
the  nation  can  trot  out  their  seventy-year-olds  and  let  them  have  a  little  fun.  Here 
they  have  their  recreation  every  22d  of  June,  which  was  Bishop  Hunter's  birthday. 
The  last  time  they  went  to  Ogden  and  spent  six  or  seven  hours  in  its  public  park,  with 
music,  dancing,  refreshments,  and  all  the  concomitants  of  a  picnic  added  to  the  railroad 
ride  which  they  got.  There  were  about  750  of  the  excursionists  over  seventy  years  of 
age,  and  these  750  went  from  Salt  Lake  City  and  its  immediate  vicinity.  Just  think  of 
it — 750  out  of  30,000  people  were  upwards  of  seventy  years  old1  One  in  every  forty  of 
the  population  had  reached  the  three-score-and-ten  limit  spoken  of  in  the  Scriptures. 
If  sixty-year-olds  had  been  accepted  the  whole  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  rolling  stock 
could  scarcely  have  accommodated  the  multitude.  I  suppose  that  about  one  in  every 
twenty  is  over  sixty.  As  far  as  humanity  is  concerned  there  seem  to  be  only  babies 
and  gray-heads  in  Utah.  Certainly  there  is  a  plenitude  of  both.  Those  who  were 
seventy  years  old  and  under  eighty  wore  red  rosettes  on  their  left  breasts;  those  over 
eighty  and  under  ninety  wore  blue  rosettes,  and  all  over  ninety  had  white  rosettes. 
Any  person  over  100  years  was  entitled  to  wear  a  golden  star,  which  the  committee 
having  charge  of  the  arrangements  for  the  festival  day  would  furnish.  There  was  no 
centenarian  this  year,  though.  Last  year  Mary  Bishop  and  Father  Wilding  wore  the 
gold  badge.  The  former  was  feeble  in  her  lower  limbs,  but  retained  full  possession  of 
her  faculties.  Savage  photographed  her  when  she  was  one  hundred  years  and  fifteen 
days  old,  and  that  photo  is  reproduced  by  the  Globe- Democrat.  Father  Wilding  lived 
to  be  102.  He  walked  down  town  every  week  to  be  shaved,  and  could  get  around  on 
his  feet  in  quite  a  lively  manner.  Both  died  during  the  past  twelve  months. 

At  Ogden  several  local  old  people  joined  the  throng.  There  were  two  or  three 
couples  over  ninety  from  the  junction  city.  Only  thirty  or  forty  of  the  octogenarians 
were  so  feeble  that  they  had  to  be  assisted,  and  only  two  were  blind .  Fifty  young 
folks  had  been  provided  with  tickets,  and  were  supposed  to  look  after  the  feeble.  A 
few  weak  and  fading  old  gents  had  to  be  carried  into  and  out  of  the  cars,  but  the 
rule  was  that  the  older  the  subject  the  greater  was  his  or  her  ambition  to  appear  as 
youthful  as  the  youngest  in  the  party.  They  promenaded  the  park,  listened  to  the 
music,  danced,  ate  cake  and  drank  wine,  and  received  new  vigor  and  freshness  from 
the  day's  sport.  Several  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  presents  were  distributed,  and 
James  Burgon,  of  Union  Fort,  at  the  south  end  of  Salt  Lake  City,  took  the  prize 
for  being  the  oldest  person  present.  He  is  ninety-six,  and  expects  to  live  ten  or 
twenty  years  longer.  The  presents  always  consist  of  silk  handkerchiefs,  walking 


RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 


41 


sticks,  rocking  chairs,  blankets,  and  articles  of  this  description,  together  with  money. 
Mr.  Burgon  received  the  finest  pair  of  blankets  ever  woven  in  Utah.  Everybody  over 
eighty  gets  a  walking  stick,  and  the  old  ladies  have  the  days  of  their  bellehood  recalled 
by  gifts  of  handsome  dress  patterns.  The  committee  having  charge  of  the  last  enter- 
tainment, which  is  free  to  black  and  white,  Jew,  Moslem,  or  Gentile,  were  Presiding 
Bishop  Wm.  B.  Preston,  and  Messrs.  George  Goddard,  C.  R.  Savage,  Wm.  Eddington, 
Wm.  Naylor,  Wm  L.  Binder,  John  Kirkman,  Andrew  Jenson,  and  Nelson  Empey,  all 
prominent  people  in  the  Mormon  Church.  In  their  prospectus  is  the  following  para- 
graph, which  explains  the  liberal  character  of  the  affair,  and  suggests  the  manner  in 
which  the  presents  and  means  for  the  excursion  are  obtained  . 

' '  This  movement  draws  no  lines  nor  asks  questions  as  to  belief  ;  it  simply  seeks 
to  make  those  happy  who  are  generally  forgotten  when  the  time  for  festivity  comes. 
Those  who  desire  to  aid  the  movement  can  hand  in  their  contributions  to  any  member 
of  the  committee." 

The  following  list  of  persons  over  eighty  years  of  age  I  copied  from  the  reports 
made  by  the  bishops  of  the  different  wards,  who  were  requested  to  send  in  to  John 
Kirkman  at  the  tithing  office  the  names  of  all  the  seventy  and  eighty-year-olds  who 
attended  the  excursion  : 


Henry  Dowman 86 

E.  R.  S.  Smith 83 

Wm.  Tucker  ( as  spry  as  a  boy) 85 

Marie  Godbold 84 

Phoebe  Hicks 82 

Mrs.   Rogers 80 

J.  B.  Lewis 90 

Mrs.  Whitney 80 

Mr.  and   Mrs.  John  Lyon 85  and  80 

Mrs.  Ringwood  (  goes  out  washing).  .  .85 

Sarah  H.  Free 87 

Wm.  Paul  ( is  at  work  every  day  ) 84 

Samuel  Turnbow 83 

Lucy  Davis 82 

Susanna  Hygham 8 1 

Mrs.  Dr.  Sprague 86 

Mother  Taylor 86 

Zinah  Williams 90 

Mrs.  Wright 86 

Corbett  Daniel 80 

Elizabeth  Hunting 85 

Mary  Henderson 82 

John  Evans 80 

Thomas  Condy 81 

Catharine    Maddocks 80 

John  Achom 84 

Sarah  Holt 80 

Sarah  Thompson 82 

Wm.  Anderson.  .  .88 


Jas.  Albian 81 

W.  H.  Hickenlooper 82 

Thomas  Court 83 

Esther  Twiggs 87 

Elizabeth  Pugmire  ( was  in  one  of  the 

pioneer  companies  of  1847  ) 84 

Elizabeth  Thomas 84 

John  Gray 84 

Christian  Lindstrom. 82 

Archibald  Scroggie 80 

Agnes  Scroggie 80 

Charles  Cowley . .  82 

Maria  Arthur 80 

Ann  Battee 82 

Mr.  Hines 97 

Christian  Muir 8 1 

E.  Luddington 81 

Gertrude  M.  Armonsen,  South  Cotton - 

wood 86 

Amy  L.  Jensen,  South  Cottonwood. .  .87 
Frederick  Neilson,  South  Cottonwood. 82 
Richard  Arnold,  South  Cottonwood. .  .82 

Fannie  Pierce 84 

Sarah  Thomas,  Centreville 89 

Charlotta  Mills,  Centreville 89 

Elizabeth  B.  Walker,  Farmington 84 

Mary  Wilson 83 

Ann  Beer 8 1 

Mary  Ann  Clift..  ..82 


42 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 


John  Hudspoth 87 

Wm.   J.  Moss 81 

Maria  Morris 81 

Alex.  McRae- 80 

M rs.  Brooks 80 

Harriet    Phelps 80 

Hannah  Miller 80 

Charles    Cowley So 

Dinah  Jones,  colored 83 

Ellen   Greenwall 81 

John  Chapman 83 

Eveline   Fisher 83 

Ann  C.  Richards 85 

E.  S.  Hills 82 

S.  Hills Si 

Joseph  Brown 86 

Ann  Brown 87 

Chas.  D.  Barnum 86 

Henry  Norman   (danced  a   jig  for  his 

brethren ) 85 

Evan  Williams 70 

John  P.  Parry 80 

Sophia  Williams 82 

Herbert  Van  Dam 89 

Wm.  Jenkinson,  blind 82 

Joseph  Seriel So 


Mercy  R.  Thompson   So 

Elizabeth  Cripps 86 

Susanna  Taylor 84 

James  Burgon,  Union 96 

Mary  Pale,   Union 83 

Andrew  Danielson,  Big  Cotton  wood. .  .83 
Hannah  Jacobson,  Big  Cottonwood.  .  .80 

Mary  Titcomb,  Mill  Creek So 

Thomas  Green,  Mill  Creek So 

Margaret  Green,  Mill  Creek 80 

John  Davis 82 

Anna  Daniels So 

Jane  Cornwall,  Sugar  House. .  .  .  <, ...  .85 
Hannah  Bailey,  Sugar  House. ...      .   88 

Wm.  Capance,  Centreville 81 

Sophronia  Adams,  Centreville Si 

John  Ford,  Centreville 80 

Thomas  Meek,  Kaysville  80 

Edward  Crockett,  Kaysville 83 

Wm.  Irons,  Kaysville 86 

Jos.   Hill,  Kaysville 85 

Wm.  Barrel,  Butterville 86 

Neils  Poulson,  Butterville 82 

Daniel  Wood   West  Bountiful 86 

Mary  Ford,  South  Bountiful 83 

J.  E.  Perry, TJraper 81 

S.  Neilson,  Draper 82 


Elizabeth  G.  Burton 82 

Besides  these  are  probably  100  more  individuals  in  this  vicinity  who  are  over  eighty- 
five  years  of  age.  Miss  Tafts,  who  is  eighty-six,  is  not  mentioned;  neither  is  Miss 
Sarah  Whitney,  who  is  eighty-five,  and  still  speaks  three  languages,  plays  the  piano,  and 
retains  others  of  her  girlish  accomplishments.  There  are  many  too  feeble  to  get  out 
who  did  not  participate  in  the  Ogden  Excursion.  Then,  too,  there  are  large  numbers 
in  exceedingly  good  circumstances  who  do  not  mingle*  with  the  common  herd  of  octo- 
genarians. Some  of  the  ablest  Mormons  are  in  the  eighties.  There  is  Judge  Elias 
Smith,  born  in  1804,  who  would  still  be  on  the  bench  if  the  Edmunds  Polygamy  Act 
had  not  disfranchised  him  and  made  him  ineligible  to  hold  office.  He  was  appointed 
Chief  Justice  of  Salt  Lake  County  by  Brigham  Young  when  the  State  of  Deseret  was 
formed,  and  he  held  that  position  until  1882.  A  chief  justiceship  in  this  connection 
amounts  to  about  the  same  thing  as  county  judgeship.  In  the  Deseret  scheme  of  gov- 
ernment every  county  had  a  chief  justice,  who  sat  with  two  associate  justices.  Judge 
Smith  is  now  eighty-three,  but  he  hobbles  around,  and  can  draw  up  a  brief  or  make  an 
argument  as  well  to-day  as  the  brightest  young  member  of  the  bar.  Erastus 
Snow,  one  of  the  twelve  Apostles,  is  in  his  seventieth  year,  and  has  been  under- 
ground for  some  time.  He  had  a  narrow  escape  from  the  Deputy  Marshals  in  Febru- 
ary last,  of  which  I  shall  write  later.  Henry  Grow,  in  his  seventy-first  year,  is  serving 
a  six-months'  term  in  the  Penitentiary  for  unlawful  cohabitation.  He  has  several  wives. 
Joseph  C.  Kingsbury,  of  the  tithing  office,  is  in  his  eighty-first  year.  And  so  I  might 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 


43 


goon  enumerating  and  naming  these  old  codgers;  but  it  would  make  a  list  almost  as 
large  as  a  city  directory,  so  I  will  stop,  and  merely  say  that  polygamy,  tithe-paying,  and 
revelation  seem  to  be  conducive  to  longevity,  at  least  in  Salt  Lake  Valley.  I  must  men- 
tion, however,  that  one  of  the  greatest  business  men  of  the  community,  Horace  D.  Eld- 
ridge,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  "  Co-Op.,"  as  the  Z.  C.  M.  I.  is  called,  which  does  a 
business  of  $3,000,000  to  $4,000,000  a  year,  is  seventy-one,  and  Wilfred  Woodruff, 
President  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  who,  if  precedent  is  followed,  will  be  chosen  as 
John  Taylor's  successor  to  the  First  Presidency  of  the  Mormon  Church,  is  eighty-one. 


(44) 


UTAH'S  MINERAL  I^BSOU^GBS. 

OF  the  mines  and  mining  of  Utah  little  more  need  be  said  than 
what  is  contained  in  the  following  synopsis  of  the  Report  of 
the  Committee  on  Mines,  Mining  and  Smelting  of  the  Salt  Lake 
Chamber  of  Commerce: 

Thus  far  the  mining  industries  have  been  the  chief  source  of  revenue 
to  Utah.  Many  of  our  most  valuable  mineral  deposits,  however,  are 
yet  undeveloped  and  comparatively  unknown  outside  our  borders. 
Intelligent  examination  of  our  mountains  has  revealed  that,  apart  from 
the  deposits  of  precious  metals  which  have  made  the  Territory  rich, 
they  are  wonderful  storehouses  wherein  nature  has  accumulated  vast 
treasures  of  almost  every  mineral  useful  in  the  sciences,  manufactures, 
and  arts. 

In  Spanish  Fork  Canon,  close  to  the  railroad  track,  there  are 
various  veins  of  alum,  the  largest  of  which  is  eighteen  inches  thick  and 
extends  several  hundred  feet  longitudinally.  It  is  of  dazzling  white- 
ness and  singularly  pure.  The  scarcity  of  alum  of  such  purity,  and  its 
resemblance  to  cryolite,  which  is  the  cheapest  material  for  the  manu- 
facture of  aluminium,  makes  it  of  great  value,  and  is  a  guarantee  of  the 
early  development  of  this  mine. 

At  various  points  throughout  the  Territory  are  found  beds  of  nitre 
sufficiently  pure  to  fuse  briskly  when  thrown  upon  hot  coals.  In  close 
proximity  to  the  vast  coal-fields,  of  which  more  later,  there  have  been 
discovered  enormous  deposits  of  ozokerite,  or  natural  mineral  wax, 
which  is  found  nowhere  else  in  appreciable  quantities,  and  which  is 
destined  to  revolutionize  more  than  one  manufacture.  It  is  air,  acid, 
and  water  proof,  and  can  be  used  for  imparting  these  qualities  to  any 
fabric  or  material.  As  an  insulator  it  is  perfect,  and  will  undoubtedly 

(45) 


46  RESOURCES   OF    UTAH   AND   SALT    LAKE   CITY. 

supersede  all  other  insulating  substances  in  the  manufacture  of  electric 
appliances.  It  is  also  eminently  adapted  for  forming  a  cheap  and  per- 
fect paving  material,  for  indurating  piles  and  posts  as  a  preventative 
against  rot,  and  for  innumerable  other  commercial  purposes.  A  some- 
what similar  product  is  gilsonite,  which  on  analysis  is  shown  to  contain 
over  78  per  cent,  of  pure  carbon,  and  consequently  to  be  almost  abso- 
lutely pure  asphalt.  Unless  similar  discoveries  are  made  elsewhere,  a 
supposition  we  have  no  reasons  for  entertaining,  it  will  remain  a 
perfectly  unique  substance,  the  nearest  approach  to  it  containing  not 
more  than  28  per  cent,  carbon  at  the  most.  It  can  be  put  to  the  same 
uses  as  the  last-named  mineral,  in  addition  to  others  for  which  its  great 
purity  specially  adapts  it,  and  as  there  is  in  sight  a  vein  of  three  feet 
in  width  and  over  5,000  feet  in  length  the  supply  is  well-nigh  inexhaust- 
ible. 

The  coal-measures  of  Utah  are  of  enormous  extent,  and  are  all 
bituminous  and  of  good  quality.  The  bulk  of  the  coal  comes  from  the 
Pleasant  Valley  and  Weber  County  districts,  which  in  1886  produced 
upwards  of  180,000  tons,  valued  at  $1,000,000  laid  down  to  the  consumer. 

It  is  only  natural  that  near  these  great  coal-measures  should  be 
found  traces  of  petroleum,  and  accordingly  there  are  evidences  that  a 
considerable  volume  of  oil  exists  which  only  needs  to  be  intelligently 
sought  to  yield  its  wealth.  Arrangements  have  now  been  made  for  the 
development  of  these  oil  fields. 

A  singular  deposit  has  been  opened  up  in  eastern  Utah,  about  seven 
miles  southeast  of  Cisco,  on  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Western  Rail- 
way. Boulders  of  magnificent  water-agate  as  large  as  five  feet  in  dia- 
meter are  to  be  obtained  without  flaws  and  of  beautiful  hues.  Among 
these  immense  gems  are  portions  of  carnelian,  one  specimen  of  which  is 
five  inches  across.  This  extraordinary  discovery  has  naturally  excited  no 
small  degree  of  interest,  and  thousands  of  acres  have  been  taken  up  under 
the  Placer  Act,  while  plans  have  been  formed  for  the  establishment  of 
works  to  polish  and  adapt  the  stones  to  furnishing  and  other  purposes. 

The  Great  Salt  Lake  is  a  limitless  magazine  of  salt,  which  can  be 
obtained  in  any  desired  quantity  by  the  simple  process  of  evapora- 
tion. By  improved  methods  the  article  can  be  produced  from  97  to 
99  per  cent,  pure,  which  is  enough  for  all  purposes.  In  addition  to 
this,  we  have  immense  quantities  of  rock  salt,  which  is  mined  chiefly  in 
San  Pete  and  Sevier  Valleys.  From  the  lake  are  also  procured  vast 
quantities  of  sulphate  of  soda,  which  at  certain  temperatures  the  winds 
blow  to  the  shore,  where  hundreds  of  tons  are  sometimes  piled  up  in  a 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  47 

single  night.  This  substance  can  be  utilized  in  the  production  of  soda- 
ash,  sal-soda,  carbonate  of  soda,  etc. 

Carbonate  of  soda  also  exists  as  an  efflorescence  on  the  soil  in 
various  spots  in  the  vicinity  of  Salt  Lake  City. 

A  vein  of  copperas,  which  is  doubtless  the  precursor  of  further 
discoveries,  has  been  found  in  Spanish  Fork  Canon,  and  is  from  six  to 
eight  inches  thick. 

One  of  Utah's  most  extensive  and  useful  treasures  is  building  stone. 
Variegated  and  plain  marbles  in  great  profusion,  limestones,  fine 
granites,  sandstones,  and  magnesium  limestones  are  found  along  the 
line  of  the  railroad  in  inexhaustible  quantities,  and  can  be  worked  and 
freighted  at  a  very  low  cost.  The  red  sandstone,  or  "brownstone," 
from  Thistle  and  other  points  along  the  line  of  the  Denver  &  Rio 
Grande  Western  Railway  is  of  equal  or  superior  quality  to  any  in  the 
country,  and  large  quarries  have  been  opened  and  expensive  machinery 
purchased  for  the  proper  working  of  this  superb  material,  which  is 
already  shipped  to  the  East  in  large  quantities  and  excites  universal 
admiration  wherever  introduced. 

Roofing  slate  of  unsurpassed  quality  and  of  various  colors,  gray, 
green,  and  purple,  is  procured  from  Antelope  Island,  in  the  lake,  and 
also  from  the  canons  near  Provo,  and  promises  to  form  the  basis  of 
an  important  industry. 

Sulphur  exists  in  enormous  beds  in  various  portions  of  the  Terri- 
tory, ranging  from  40  per  cent,  to  a  state  of  almost  absolute  purity. 

PRECIOUS  METALS. 

The  first  attempt  at  mining  for  the  precious  metals  began  about  25 
years  ago,  but,  owing  to  want  of  railroad  facilities,  very  little  was  done 
until  1871.  Since  that  time  the  development  of  the  industry  has  been 
phenomenal,  in  view  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  and  the  lack  of  capital 
which  has  caused  so  many  owners  to  depend  entirely  upon  their  output 
for  the  means  of  increasing  it.  From  1871  to  1887  the  total  output  of 
the  Utah  mines  was  as  follows: 

Gold,  148,316  fine  ozs.,  at  $20.67 $  3,065,692.70 

Silver,  65,226,753  fine  ozs.,  coml.  value 73,201,966.50 

Lead,  689,630, 705  Ibs. ,  coml.  value 33, 799, 599. 20 

Copper,  19,044,995  Ibs  ,  coml.  value 3,003,889.20 


Total  $113,071,146.60 

If  the  silver  were  computed  at  its  coinage  value  the  amount  would 
be  increased  to  $123,999,848.98. 


Views  in  Park  City.     Mines  and  Mill, 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE   CITY.  49 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  MINING  DISTRICTS. 

The  mines  worked  at  the  present  time  are  principally  in  Beaver, 
Juab,  Summit,  Salt  Lake,  Tooele,  and  Washington  Counties.  Through- 
out the  Territory  mineral  indications  are  present  wherever  there  are 
mountains  which  assure  success  to  the  capitalist  in  search  of  profitable 
investments.  Rich  ores  are  known  to  exist  in  the  hills  of  Western 
Utah,  but  mining  in  that  section  necessarily  awaits  the  construction  of 
railroads.  Mines  are  found  on  both  flanks  of  the  Oquirrh  Range  from 
the  lake  southward  nearly  a  hundred  miles,  as  at  Stockton,  Dry  Canon, 
Ophir,  Bingham,  and  Tintic,  which  are  all  connected  with  the  capital  by 
rail. 

BEAVER   COUNTY. 

This  county  contains  five  parallel  ranges  running  north  and  south, 
and  all  of  them  rich  in  minerals.  A  single  chimney  of  ore  at  the  base 
of  Grampian  Mountain  turned  out  100  tons  of  ore  per  day  for  four  years, 
realizing  over  $13,000,000  worth  of  metal,  of  which  $4,000,000  was  paid 
in  dividends.  The  output  of  the  county  for  the  past  year  was  5,369 
tons  only,  which  indicates  that  mining  in  Beaver  County  is  at  present 
carried  on  by  men  of  small  means  who  are  waiting  for  fresh  capital  to 
be  introduced  to  develop  their  mines.  The  Horn  Silver  Mine  does  not 
belong  to  the  general  category  of  Beaver  County  mines.  It  is  a  bonanza 
of  rare  merit. 

The  facilities  for  mining  in  Beaver  County  are  excellent.  The 
country  is  dry  in  the  summer,  with  sufficient  water,  wood,  and  timber 
for  mining  purposes,  and  operations  are  not  obstructed  by  snow  or  cold 
in  winter.  The  mines  are  usually  easy  of  access,  provisions  and  sup- 
plies are  cheap  and  abundant,  and  good  labor  is  obtainable  at  fair 
wages.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  introduction  of  capital  and  intelli- 
gent operation  would  vastly  increase  the  output  in  this  district. 

JUAB    COUNTY. 

Tintic  is  the  principal  mining  camp  in  this  county.  The  ore  ship- 
ments of  the  past  year  exceeded  32,000  tons,  in  addition  to  900  tons 
treated  by  a  chloridizing  mill  within  the  county.  All  this  comes  mainly 
from  four  mines,  about  2,000  tons  being  contributed  by  a  score  of  small 
mines  which  need  capital  for  their  further  development.  Besides  this, 
the  Tintic  Iron  Co.  shipped  during  the  year  about  10,000  tons  of  iron 
for  fluxing  purposes  to  the  smelters,  where  it  is  worth  about  $50,000. 


50  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

SUMMIT   COUNTY. 

The  total  shipments  of  ore  from  Summit  County  for  1887  were  20,- 
600  tons,  which,  with  50,000  tons  milled  at  the  mines,  make  the  total 
output  70,600  tons.  There  is  no  district  in  the  entire  mining  section 
which  offers  greater  inducements  to  capital  than  this,  but  thus  far  it  has 
had  to  depend  upon  its  output  for  the  means  of  increasing  its  output, 
otherwise  the  amount  realized  from  its  rich  mines  would  have  been 
many  times  larger.  The  mining  town  of  the  district  is  Park  City,  which 
is  connected  with  Salt  Lake  City  by  rail,  and  contains  a  sampling  mill, 
one  3o-stamp  and  one  5o-stamp  chloridizing  mill,  and  one  concentrating 
and  sampling  mill  and  smelter.  A  tramway  runs  from  the  town  to  the 
mines,  five  miles  away,  rising  in  that  distance  2,000. feet. 

The  principal  districts  are  Blue  Ledge,  Uintah,  and  Snake  Creek. 
In  Blue  Ledge  district  nothing  of  any  importance  has  been  done  pend- 
ing the  completion  of  a  drain  tunnel  which  is  necessary  for  the  proper 
working  of  the  mines.  This  work  will  be  the  making  of  Blue  Ledge. 

Snake  Creek  district  is  as  yet  a  new  mining  field.  But  during  the 
year  over  $10,000  worth  of  ore  has  been  taken  out  of  one  mine,  the 
ore  containing  50  per  cent,  lead  and  180  ounces  of  silver  to  the  ton. 

Uintah  district  is  probably  the  richest  mineral  district  in  the  whole 
Territory.  The  "Ontario  Vein"  for  15,000  feet  of  its  course  is  owned 
by  four  large  companies,  including  the  Ontario,  the  Daly,  and  the 
Anchor.  The  latter  company  is  now  driving  a  drain  tunnel,  seven  feet 
high  in  the  clear,  to  drain  20x24  inches,  at  a  cost  of  $150,000.  There 
is  good  reason  to  suppose  that  this  vein  extends  through  to  the  Cot- 
tonwood  Mines,  and  in  the  opposite  direction  to  Blue  Ledge  district, 
making  a  total  of  six  or  seven  miles  in  length. 

The  Ontario  plant  of  mine  and  mill  cost  $2,570.000  ;  400  hands 
are  employed  at  average  wages  of  $100  per  month  ;  the  total  output 
of  the  mine  from  its  inception  is  over  $23,000,000  at  the  coining  value, 
and  the  actual  dividends  paid  amount  to  $8,825,000.  37,000  tons  of 
ore  were  extracted  during  the  past  year,  realizing  upward  of  $1,860,- 
ooo,  and  paying  $900,000  in  dividends. 

The  Daly  Mining  Company  from  1885  to  1887  extracted  $2,100,- 
ooo  in  metal  and  paid  $375,000  in  dividends.  Both  these  mines  find 
it  to  their  advantage  to  sell  to  the  smelters  their  lead  ores — about  22 
per  cent,  of  the  whole — thereby  increasing  their  reducing  capacity,  and 
perhaps  getting  a  little  more  for  their  ore  than  they  could  otherwise 
obtain. 


RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  51 

The  other  companies  working  this  vein  report  much  smaller  opera- 
tions than  the  above,  but  all  are  equally  encouraging  in  their  present 
results  and  future  prospects. 

SALT    LAKE    COUNTY. 

The  mines  of  Salt  Lake  County  are  at  Bingham  Canon  and  on 
the  Cottonwoods,  both  connected  with  the  Jordan  smelters  and  with 
Salt  Lake  City  by  rail  and  tramway.  The  total  output  of  ore  for  1887 
was  30,384  tons.  About  29,000  tons  of  ore  were  shipped  from  Bing- 
ham during  the  past  year.  The  great  ore-channel  of  the  district  strikes 
north-easterly  from  the  summit  of  the  Oquirrh  Range  about  three 
miles  to  the  valley.  The  ores  are  galena,  carbonates,  and  sulphates, 
requiring  concentration  to  bring  them  to  a  shipping  grade,  ten  ounces 
silver  and  50  per  cent.  lead.  The  Brooklyn  and  Yosemite  Mines  are 
reported  to  have  produced  $2,500,000.  West  of  these  two  mines  their 
veins  unite,  and  from  this  vein  60,000  to  70,000  tons  of  oxidized  ore 
have  been  extracted,  which  sold  for  $1,500,000.  Further  west  the  zone 
is  600  feet  wide,  and  on  the,  surface  there  was  a  vast  body  of  oxidized 
ores.  Still  further  west,  the  Jordan  Mine  has  taken  out  100,000  tons, 
worth  $2,000,000,  of  surface  ores,  and  there  is  close  at  hand  1,000,000 
tons  of  $20  quartz  in  which  gold  and  silver  are  so  combined  that  no 
way  has  yet  been  found  to  work  it  profitably.  On  the  exhaustion 
of  their  oxidized  ores  the  Jordan  and  other  mines  were  compelled  to 
suspend  operations,  but  under  improved  methods  work  has  been 
resumed,  and  the  output  is  yearly  increasing.  All  these  mines  have 
concentrating  mills,  whereby  the  galena  and  iron  pyrites  are  obtained 
as  separate  products  cheaply  and  without  great  loss.  The  latter  is 
useful  as  a  fluxing  material. 

There  are  many  productive  and  valuable  mines  in  the  district 
besides  those  mentioned,  not  on  or  even  near  the  principal  ore  chan- 
nel. They  seem,  in  general,  to  be  greatly  improving,  both  in  product 
and  promise.  Most  of  them  are  worked  by  lessees  depending  upon 
the  output  for  development  and  even  for  plant.  Could  this  district — 
and  this  is  equally  true  of  all  our  mining  districts — command  means  to 
open  the  mines  systematically,  as  the  Comstock  Mines  did  for  twenty 
years,  Utah  mining  would  enter  upon  a  new  era  and  our  output  would 
be  doubled  twice  over. 

TOOELE    COUNTY. 

The  total  shipments  of  ore  from  this  county  in  the  year  1887  were 
9,430  tons.  The  county  is  crossed  by  a  mineral  belt  a  mile  in  width, 
composed  mainly  of  galena  and  carbonates,  free  from  base  metals,  and 


52  RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

very  desirable  as  a  flux  for  dryer  ores.'  At  the  principal  mine  in  the 
district  over  4,000  tons  have  been  produced  annually  for  more  than 
four  years.  Only  3  per  cent,  of  this  is  shipped  as  mined.  This  con- 
tains 64  per  cent,  lead,  34  ounces  silver,  and  a  little  gold.  The  other 
97  per  cent,  is  run  through  jigs,  and  yields  26  per  cent,  of  concentrates 
which  contain  53  per  cent,  lead,  23  ounces  silver,  and  $i  gold  per  ton. 
This  mine  has  20,000  tons  in  reserve  and  the  promise  of  ten  times  as 
much  in  new  ground  now  being  opened.  Dividends  paid  in  1887 
amounted  to  $37,000. 

In  the  Ophir  district  and  at  Dry  Canon  there  is  a  large  quantity 
of  ore  which  makes  in  pipes  and  chimneys  and  can  be  selected  to  a 
very  high  grade.  After  some  years  of  inactivity,  mining  is  now  being 
resumed  and  promises  to  attract  considerable  attention  to  this  section, 
which  has  a  convenient  market  and  undoubted  prospects,  as  also  the 
mines  along  the  slopes  of  the  Oquirrh  Range  from  Stockton  and  Bing- 
ham  to  Tintic. 

WASHINGTON    COUNTY. 

The  output  of  this  district  for  1887  was  221,728  ounces  of  fine 
silver,  most  of  which  came  from  one  mine  that  has  been  worked  con- 
tinuously for  ten  years.  This  silver  possesses  the  peculiarity  of  being 
found  in  sandstone,  principally  in  the  form  of  chloride,  the  pay-rock 
being  undistinguishable  from  the  ordinary  material  of  the  reef.  From 
10,000  to  12,000  tons  of  rock  are  milled  annually  by  one  company,  and 
the  mines  show  no  signs  of  exhaustion. 

TOTAL  ORE  PRODUCT  FOR  1887. 

The  total  output  for  the  year  by  counties  is  as  follows  : 

Beaver  County 6,369  tons. 

Juab  County 22,900  " 

Summit  County 70,663  " 

Salt  Lake  County 30,384  " 

Tooele  County 7,850  " 

Washington  County    : 12,000  " 

Total 149, 166  tons. 

Exclusive  of  about  10,500  tons  of  Tintic  iron  ore. 
As  near  as  can  be  made  out,  this  ore  was  reduced  as  follows  : 

Ontario  and  Daly  Mills 50,000  tons. 

Christy  Mill 12,000     " 

Northern  Spy  Mill  900     ' ' 

Salt  Lake  Smelters 65,000     " 


Total 128,400  tons. 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  53 

The  remainder,  20,766  tons,  was  shipped  out  of  the  Territory  for 
reduction.  There  were  also  shipped  7,805  tons  which  must  be  added 
to  the  product  of  the  counties,  making  the  total  ore  product 

156,971  tons. 

DIVIDENDS. 

The  dividends  paid  in  1887  by  five  of  the  principal  mines  amounted 
to  $1,267,500.  The  profits  on  mines  worked  by  individuals  or  close 
corporations,  and  of  smelters  connected  with  foreign  corporations, 
there  is  no  means  of  ascertaining.  The  New  York  Engineering  and 
Mining  Journal  reports  $25,000  in  dividends  paid  by  the  Brooklyn  in 
1887,  which  must  be  added  to  the  above,  making  a  total  of  $i, 292, 500. 

COST  OF  EXTRACTION  AND  REDUCTION. 

Cost  of  mining  and  reduction  varies  greatly  with  circumstances. 
It  ranges,  however,  between  $13  and  $30  per  ton,  according  to  location, 
dimension  of  veins,  water  facilities,  distance  from  market,  grade,  and 
nature  of  ores. 

SAMPLING. 

There  are  ten  sampling  mills  in  the  Territory:  one  in  Beaver 
County,  one  at  Milford,  two  at  Park  City,  four  at  Sandy,  and  two  at 
Salt  Lake.  Together  they  sampled  during  the  past  year  about  87,000 
tons  of  ore.  The  sampler  crushes  the  ore  to  the  size  of  peas,  thor- 
oughly mixes,  sends  sealed  packages  to  the  assayers,  upon  whose 
certificate  it  is  bought  and  sold. 

SMELTING. 

In  the  Jordan  Valley,  six  to  twelve  miles  to  the  south  of  Salt  Lake 
City,  on  the  railroads,  are  the  Utah  smelters,  four  or  five  different 
concerns,  comprising  about  a  dozen  stacks.  Those  in  blast  at  present 
are  the  Germania,  three  stacks,  three  revolving  roasters,  and  one  large 
reverberatory;  the  Hanauer,  three  stacks,  with  crushing  and  roasting 
facilities  rim  by  water  power;  the  Mingo,  four  stacks  and  five  reverbera- 
tories;  the  three  plants  being  valued  at  $400,000.  Together  they  run 
six  or  seven  stacks  pretty  steadily,  employing  about  270  men  at  an 
average  wage  of  $65  each  per  month.  During  the  past  year  they 
smelted  65,500  tons  of  silver-lead  ores  and  34,000  tons  of  fluxing 
materials,  consuming  27,000  tons  of  fuel  and  running  out  13,500  tons 
of  lead  bullion,  worth,  in  Salt  Lake  :  lead,  an  average  for  the  year 
of  $50  a  ton,  and  silver  94  cents  an  ounce,  $178  per  ton — $2,403,000. 
The  total  transportation  in  connection  with  their  business,  as  near  as 
may  be,  140,000  tons  an  average  distance  of  300  miles. 


(54) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  55 

CONCLUSION. 

Mining  in  Utah  appears  to  be  in  a  healthy  and  growing  condition. 
The  southern  mines  are  not  as  productive  as  formerly  just  at  present, 
but  the  northern  districts  are  more  productive.  Work  is  being 
resumed  in  some  districts  once  practically  abandoned.  Mines  are 
being  discovered  and  opened  outside  of  organized  districts,  and  new 
railroads  projected  to  give  our  western  mines  an  outlet  More  money 
than  formerly  is  being  expended  in  the  way  of  prospecting  and  devel- 
opment. From  the  strength  of  prices  of  metals  an  increase  in  the 
value  of  our  output  may  reasonably  be  expected,  at  the  same  time 
that  its  increase  in  amount  is  certain.  Our  mining  field  offers  solid 
inducements  to  skill  and  enterprise  backed  by  money.  With  these 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  our  mineral  output  might  be  doubled 
within  two  or  three  years. 


(50) 


WHAT  opportunities  are  afforded  in  Salt  Lake  City  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  industrial  enterprises  may  be  learned  from  the  fol- 
lowing portion  of  a  report  made  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
by  the  Committee  on  Manufactures: — 

REPORT   OF   COMMITTEE  ON  MANUFACTURES. 

On  September  roth  we  carefully  prepared  a  circular  and  blank  forms,  which  we 
addressed  to  every  manufacturer  in  the  Territory,  asking  information  regarding-  the 
amount  of  capital  invested,  persons  employed,  material  and  fuel  consumed,  profit  real- 
ized, wages  paid,  etc.,  together  with  many  leading  questions  as  to  how  their  interests 
could  be  best  promoted  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

From  the  replies  received,  we  glean  much  important  and  instructive  data  that  we 
shall  make  use  of  as  circumstances  direct;  keeping  strictly  in  view  the  confidence  in 
which  much  of  the  information  is  given.  Also,  that  to  a  reasonable  degree,  and,  in 
some  cases  to  an  exceptional  extent,  these  ventures  have  been  successful,  and  some  pro- 
prietors frankly  admit  that  more  capital  could  be  employed  in  their  lines,  and  that  addi- 
tional plants  would  pay  equally  well. 

To  the  question:  "  What  is  your  greatest  drawback?"  the  answers  have  been:  "Lack 
of  public  spirit,"  "Want  of  local  patronage,"  "  Railroad  discrimination  in  favor  of  other 
towrns,"  "Excessive  freight  rates,"  "Unreasonable  prejudice  against  home-made 
goods,"  or  "  High  price  of  fuel." 

To  the  question:  "  In  what  way  can  the  Salt  Lake  Chamber  of  Commerce  aid  you?" 
the  replies  are:  "  By  using  its  influence  in  getting  freight  rates  reduced,"  "Prevent- 
ing discriminations  against  our  industries,"  "  Fostering  immigration  and  the  settlement 
of  the  country,"  "  Setting  the  example  and  using  its  influence  to  encourage  local  patron- 
age," "  More  thoroughly  advertise  our  available  resources,"  and  "  Invite  capital  from 
abroad  to  our  aid." 

We  find  that  the  resources  of  the  Territory  are  wonderfully  adapted  to  the  promotion 
of  many  important  manufactures,  and  that  skilled  labor  is  more  abundant  than  would 

(57) 


•sfc 


•HD 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  59 

naturally  be  expected  in  so  new  a  country.  At  the  same  time,  in  some  lines,  notably  in 
harness  and  saddlery,  woolen  manufactures,  confectionery,  cigar-making,  woodwork- 
ing, brick-making,  plumbing  and  brewing,  skilled  labor  is  reported  as  difficult  to  obtain. 

MORE    CAPITAL    NEEDED. 

In  compiling  the  information  now  in  their  possession,  your  Committee  have  collected 
some  important  facts  and  arrived  at  some  very  definite  conclusions.  They  consider  it 
their  duty  to  lay  a  synopsis  of  the  same  quite  clearly  before  your  body,  in  the  hope 
that  in  the  main  purpose  of  their  appointment  they  may  succeed  and  the  relief  so  much 
desired  may  be  found.  To  the  question:  "Could  a  larger  capital  be  successfully  em- 
ployed in  your  business?"  the  replies  have  been  emphatically:  "  Yes,"  "  Surely,"  "Yes, 
possibly,"  and,  "  Ten  times  as  much,"  from  confectioners,  cracker  factories,  cigar 
makers,  soap  makers,  woolen  mills,  knitting  factories,  silk  weavers,  breweries,  shoe  fac- 
tories, basket  makers,  harness  makers  and  saddlers,  trunk  makers,  broom  factories,  fur- 
niture factories  and  upholsterers,  iron  and  brass  foundries  and  machine  shops,  box 
makers,  potteries,  etc.  In  many  of  these  industries-,  we  find  what  would  otherwise  be 
thriving,  labor-making  and  money-saving  concerns  languishing  for  want  of  a  little  capital 
with  which  to  improve  their  plants,  advertise  their  wares,  and  place  their 
products  on  a  ready  market.  In  other  directions,  notably  in  the  manufacture  of  sugar, 
window  glass,  leather,  paper,  cement,  putty,  candles,  brushes,  paints,  white  lead,  sheet 
lead  and  lead  pipes,  agricultural  implements,  spirits,  medicinal  preparations,  earthen 
sewer  pipes,  canned  goods,  pickles  and  sauces,  pails,  tubs,  kegs,  barrels  and  step  lad- 
ders, wagons  and  carriages,  stoves,  baskets,  demijohns,  clothing,  hats,  etc.,  and  in  the 
successful  operation  of  lithographing  establishments,  cigar  factories,  publishing  houses, 
binderies,  rolling  mills,  reduction  works,  manufacturing  tin  shops,  wire  workers  and 
stone  and  marble  sawing  and  carving,  we  find  that  capital  can  be  so  successfully  em- 
ployed in  this  city  that  it  is  a  marvel  to  us  that  the  opportunities  have  not  been  taken 
advantage  of. 

We  also  call  attention  to  the  remarkable  fact  that  of  all  the  money  employed  in 
home  manufactures,  and  which  amounts  in  round  figures  to  about  $5,000,000,  not  a  dol- 
lar of  it  is  imported  capital.  This  is  an  item  of  much  interest,  and  probably  one  that  no 
other  State  or  Territory  in  the  Union  can  say.  It  may  be  a  matter  of  congratulation, 
but  your  committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  our  interests  would  be  best  promoted  by  the 
use  of  a  hundred  times  that  amount  of  now  idle  foreign  capital,  the  profits  from  which 
should  and  would  give  sustenance  to  five  times  our  population  of  mechanics  and  artis- 
ans, retain  millions  of  dollars  that  are  now  sent  away,  and  utilize  hundreds  of  resources 
that  nature  has  placed  with  a  lavish  hand  at  our  doors. 

FACTORIES    ESTABLISHED. 

In  addition  to  those  industries  which  we  have  noted  as  suffering  from  lack  of  cap- 
ital, it  gives  us  pleasure  to  announce  the  successful  operation  in  this  city  alone  of  boot 
and  shoe,  knitting  and  overall  factories,  woolen  and  paper  mills,  tanneries,  confection- 
eries, fence  and  mattress  factories,  cracker  factories,  show-case  makers,  brick  makers, 
aerated  water  works,  roller  grist  mills,  cigar  factories,  vinegar  factories,  soap  making, 
salt  refining,  chemical  works,  glass  works,  wood  working,  printing,  book  binding,  brew- 
ing, etc.,  which  give  employment  to  upwards  of  1,200  operatives,  two  and  a  half  mil- 
lions of  money,  and  produce  over  four  million  dollars  annually  in  merchantable 


60  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE     CITY. 

products.  While  the  data  above  given  make  a  gratifying  exhibit,  they  also  reveal  the 
remarkable  fact  that  Salt  Lake  City  alone  employs  more  labor,  operates  more  capital 
and  produces  greater  results  in  manufacturing  lines  than  all  the  Territories  of  Wyo- 
ming, Montana,  Idaho,  and  Arizona  combined;  and  yet  we  have  hardly  disturbed  the 
surface  of  our  possibilities  in  this  direction. 

We  find  that  all  ventures  in  this  city  for  the  utilization  of  our  surplus  capital  and 
natural  resources  have  been  successful  and  paid  gratifying  dividends  save  where  gross  care- 
lessness or  incompetent  management  were  displayed  or  where  want  of  necessary  capital 
was  manifest. 

It  is  certainly  a  fact  that  the  manufacturing  facilities  of  the  present  are,  in  some 
important  lines,  totally  inadequate  to  the  demand,  and  when  we  look  at  the  brilliant 
prospects  of  the  immediate  future  it  is  not  pleasant  to  contemplate  the  large  amounts  of 
principal  and  profit  which  may  have  to  go  abroad  for  lack  of  investment  of  capital  in 
home  manufactures  and  for  the  support  of  a  largely  increased  population.  We  are  well 
satisfied  from  our  investigations  that  the  men  who  will  build  up  the  largest  fortunes  in 
the  future  of  this  city  will  be  those  who  now  engage  in  manufactures. 

SUGGESTIONS    FOR   IMPROVEMENT. 

It  is  well  known  that  cement,  such  as  is  used  for  artificial  stone  sidewalks,  can  be 
produced  here  from  native  and  adjacent  material  as  cheaply  and  as  good  as  any  known 
variety.  The  city  would  be  much  improved  and  beautified,  property  would  be  much 
enhanced  in  value,  and  employment  given  to  thousands  of  its  citizens  if  a  Property 
Frontage  Tax  could  be  levied  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  grades  and  covering  at 
least  a  portion  of  all  sidewalks  with  this  material.  Also  by  the  establishment  of  earthen 
sewer-pipe  factories,  and  the  enlargement  of  our  foundries  for  the  casting  of  all  iron, 
water,  gas  and  sewer  pipes,  hydrants,  and  lamp-posts  used  in  public  improvements. 

In  addition  to  the  information  gathered  by  the  Committee  on  Man- 
ufactures, it  may  be  suggested  that  there  is  no  point  in  the  United 
States  better  suited  for  the  manufacture  of  plate  or  window  glass  than 
Salt  Lake  City.  Silica  equal  in  quality  to  the  finest  French  product 
is  here  found  in  abundance,  as  is  also  soda,  feldspar,  and  the  other  ma- 
terials that  enter  into  the  manufacture  of  glass.  Governor  Fletcher,  of 
St.  Louis,  who  has  given  the  subject  a  great  deal  of  attention  and  con- 
sideration, having  taken  much  interest  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Crystal  City  Glass  Works,  has  expressed  the  opinion  that  glass  manu- 
facture could  be  made  a  greater  success  in  Salt  Lake  than  anywhere 
else  in  America,  and  that  the  city  could  be  made  the  great  supply 
center  for  the  whole  country  and  become  as  famous  for  glass  as  Shef- 
field, England,  for  cutlery. 

Besides  glass  works,  there  are  many  other  industries  that  might  be 
established  on  a  large  scale,  such  as  flour  mills,  candle  factories, 
foundries  and  rolling  mills,  canning  factories,  and  artificial  stone  and 
cement  works.  Natural  wax  or  ozokerite  is  a  material  found  in  Utah 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  61 

in  abundance,  and  imported  from  Germany  at  a  heavy  expense.  It  is  a 
perfect  substitute  for  beeswax,  and  can  be  manufactured  into  candles 
superior  in  quality  to  the  best  article  of  stearine  sold  in  the  market. 
This  same  material  can  also  be  converted  to  other  uses,  and  the  pos- 
sibilities in  connection  with  our  deposits  of  gilsonite,  a  carbonaceous 
substance,  asphalt,  gypsum,  alum,  nitre,  kaolin,  plumbago,  ochres, 
mica,  manganese,  copperas,  sulphate  of  soda,  sulphur,  and  the  various 
China  clays,  and  talcs,  have  neither  been  tested  nor  measured. 

The  substances  enumerated  exist  in  Utah  not  merely  in  name,  but 
in  reality.  There  is  a  greater  abundance  and  variety  of  curious  miner- 
als and  chemical  resources  in  Utah  than  anywhere  in  the  United 
States.  None  of  the  great  Commonwealths  of  the-  West  can  make  such 
an  extraordinary  showing.  In  the  matter  of  coal,  for  instance,  Major 
Gilson,  who  has  been  one  of  the  most  indefatigable,  intelligent,  and  in- 
dustrious prospectors  of  the  Territory,  makes  the  broad  statement — and 
challenges  anyone  to  disprove  its  correctness — that  there  is  more  coal 
within  the  borders  of  Utah  than  in  all  the  territory  intervening  be- 
tween it  and  Pennsylvania,  the  coal-beds  of  that  great  coal-producing 
State  not  being  excepted.  And  yet,  ye  railroad  builders!  citizens  of 
Los  Angeles  and  other  town:;  of  Southern  California  have  paid  $40.00 
per  ton  for  Australian  coal  during  the  past  winter. 

There  is  hardly  a  species  of  raw  material  needed  for  the  successful 
manufacture  of  any  article  that  can  not  be  found  within  the  borders  of 
Utah,  while  food  products  can  be  grown  here  more  successfully  and 
cheaply  than  in  the  garden  spots  of  the  East.  It  is  therefore  hardly 
necessary  to  predict  that,  with  a  growth  of  population  during  the  next 
ten  years  equal  to  that  which  the  West  has  enjoyed  during  the  last  ten, 
Salt  Lake  will  outrival  as  a  supply  center  for  manufactures  any  city 
this  side  of  the  Missouri  River. 


Utah  Waterfalls. 


(62) 


AGRICULTURE. 

THE  surface  area  of  Utah  is  54,380,800  acres.  Exclusive  of  the  ' 
Salt  Lake,  which  covers  2,500  square  miles,  the  water  surface  of 
the  Territory  is  1,779,200  acres.  The  total  number  of  acres 
surveyed  up  to  June  30,  1887,  was  11,711,118.01,  to  which  several 
hundred  thousand  have  since  been  added.  The  whole  Territory  lies  on 
the  western  slope  of  the  Continental  Divide,  as  the  apex  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  is  called,  and  is  divided  into  a  succession  of  valleys  running 
from  North  to  South,  which  for  fertility  of  soil  are  unequalled  in 
America.  The  principal  valleys  are  Malad,  Cache,  Weber,  Salt  Lake, 
Tooele,  Utah,  Provo,  Rush,  and  San  Pete,  Sevier  and  Rio  Virgin  to  the 
southeast.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Colorado  is  fifty  per  cent, 
larger  in  area  than  Utah,  the  latter  possesses  much  more  agricultural 
land.  Speaking  of  the  products  of  the  soil,  Governor  West  in  his 
annual  report  of  last  year  says  : 

The  singularly  high  qualities  of  our  agricultural  products  having  already  forced 
themselves  upon  the  notice  of  the  country,  I  feel  called  upon  to  treat  them  in  such  detail 
that  they  will  be  more  fully  understood,  hoping  thereby  to  create  a  fuller  appreciation 
of  their  merits  and  promote  their  exportation.  In  this  labor  I  feel  a  constant  pleasure 
in  the  comparison  which  our  products  bear  towards  those  of  other  regions.  The  con- 
viction has  forced  itself  upon  me  that  there  is  scarcely  any  agricultural  product  of  the 
temperate  zone  which  will  not  grow  to  perfection  here.  The  varied  contour  of  our 
Territory  is  such  that  at  some  places,  if  not  at  others,  each  of  all  the  different  varieties 
will  thrive  which  go  to  support  an  agricultural  community.  The  soil  seems  to  be  rich 
in  the  phosphates  that  fertilize  vegetation,  while  the  system  of  irrigation  practiced  here 
renders  the  farmer  less  subject  to  the  caprice  of  weather  than  elsewhere.  As  a  result 
the  product  per  acre  of  some  crops  is  simply  astonishing,  while  qualities  rank  just  as 
high.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  cultivation  of  a  given  thing  in  Utah  produces  at  once  a 

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64  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

high  type  suitable  and  in  demand  forever  after  in  other  districts  for  seed  purposes;  as, 
for  instance,  plant  lucerne  seed  from  California  on  Utah  soil,  and  the  product  is  a 
better  seed  which  California  is  desirous  of  procuring  for  planting  herself.  With  positive 
proof  of  these  facts,  it  is  difficult  to  repress  some  degree  of  enthusiasm  in  treating  on 
these  subjects,  while  they  inspire  confidence  in  the  future  of  our  exports. 

Utah  wheat  and  barley  are  known  the  world  over,  and  the  Utah 
potato  is  equally  far-famed.  In  proof  of  the  merit  and  quality  of  Utah's 
vegetable  productions  it  may  be  stated  that  the  United  States  Quarter- 
masters, at  Leavenworth,  Kan.,  in  advertising  for  supplies,  have  given 
preference  to  Utah  products  even  to  the  extent  of  paying  a  premium 
on  the  same  class  of  vegetables  as  grown  in  Colorado. 

Neither  are  we  excelled  in  fruit  or  vegetables  by  California.  Our 
fruit  is  sold  in  the  market  of  San  Francisco  for  a  higher  price  than  their 
native  products.  The  reason  is  that  the  Utah  fruit  has  a  finer  flavor, 
as  it  does  not  mature  quite  so  rapidly  as  the  California  article. 

In  regard  to  the  character  and  productiveness  of  the  soil,  little  need 
be  said.  The  writer  was  given  the  names  of  two  farmers  from  Kays- 
ville  who  raised  106  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre  and  sold  the  same  to 
the  Co-operative  Store  last  fall.  Potatoes  have  been  found  in  our 
market  twelve  of  which  have  weighed  a  bushel.  A  potato  weighing 
eight  pounds  five  ounces  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce.  Reputable  citizens  declare  that  they  have  raised  1000 
bushels  of  tomatoes  to  the  acre,  so  that  the  possibilities  in  the  line  of 
agriculture,  gardening,  and  fruit  raising  can  hardly  be  exaggerated. 

STOCK  RAISING,  ETC. 

The  following  from  the  Report  of  Governor  West  will  give  some 
idea  of  the  stock  and  cattle  and  sheep  interests  of  Utah  : 

If  our  climate  is  too  dry  for  the  luxuriant  growth  of  grasses,  the  conformation  of 
our  Territory  is  such  that  it  fully  offsets  to  the  stock  raiser  whatever  drawbacks  may  be 
laid  to  the  want  of  summer  rains.  As  the  feed  begins  to  give  out  on  the  lower  benches 
in  the  spring,  the  snow  line  is  receding  on  the  foothills,  and  stock  is  pastured  at  higher 
altitudes  as  the  season  advances,  until  in  the  midsummer  they  graze  among  the  grassy 
valleys  of  the  mountains  and  on  the  cool,  high  plateaus.  When  winter  approaches  they 
gradually  retire  again,  and  by  the  time  of  general  snowfall  are  roaming  over  low,  wide 
ranges  where  they  cannot  exist  in  summer  for  heat  and  want  of  water.  This  changing 
life  brings  them  health  and  hardihood.  They  have  a  "summer  out"  every  year,  and 
are  thus  developed  into  the  sturdiest  races  of  America.  The  ranges  of  one  season  are 
held  in  reserve  at  another.  During  the  summer,  on  the  millions  of  acres  of  the  interior 
basins,  too  dry  for  summer  ranges,  the  native  bunch  grass  is  maturing  and  cures  stand- 
ing, ready  for  the  immense  flocks  and  herds  which  will  winter  there.  In  these  regions 
the  snowfall  is  light  enough  to  furnish  water  for  the  stock,  but  not  to  bury  the  dry, 
fattening,  bunch  grass,  famous  for  its  nutritive  qualities.  Such,  in  round  terms,  is  the 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  65 

manner  of  raising  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep  in  Utah,  and  the  quintupling  of  these  in- 
terests in  the  last  six  years  is  sufficient  proof  of  its  excellence.  Taken  altogether,  there 
are  not  fewer  than  3,000,000  animals  herded  in  Utah,  against  504,520  reported  by  the 
Bureau  of  Statistics  in  1876.  Besides  this  increase  in  numbers,  the  intrinsic  value  per 
head  of  cattle  and  horses  is  almost  doubled,  while  that  of  sheep  has  been  greatly 
improved. 

CATTLE. 

The  cattle  interests  of  Utah  are  rapidly  improving  in  every  respect.  Much  more 
attention  is  being  paid  to  breeding  up  than  ever  before.  No  State  or  other  Territory, 
in  proportion  to  its  population,  is  bringing  in  as  much  stock  for  this  purpose  as  we 
are.  As  a  result,  our  beef  steers  are  very  blocky,  desirable  cattle,  and  average  well  in 
any  market.  There  are  few  herds  in  the  Territory  which  are  not  now  crossed  with 
either  Durham  or  Hereford  blood,  while  for  domestic  purposes  the  Holstein  are  attract- 
ing much  attention  for  milk,  butter,  and  beef.  Although  an  average  of  all  the  opinions 
we  have  obtained  is  that  stockmen  cannot  go  far  from  the  short-horn  for  best  beef  re- 
sults, a  mingling  with  other  breeds  to  greater  or  less  degree  is  unanimously  recom- 
mended for  special  purposes.  There  are  several  extensive  concerns  engaged  solely  in 
the  high  breeding  of  cattle  for  our  ranges,  and  the  result  must  soon  be  seen  all  over  the 
Territory.  It  has  been  pretty  well  demonstrated  that  the  number  of  cattle  in  Utah  is 
almost  half  a  million,  valued  at  $11,500,000.  While  this  is  comparatively  few  in  num- 
ber the  average  value  per  head  is  high.  The  low  price  of  beef  in  the  East  prevents 
any  great  exports,  which  in  1885  amounted  to  $500,000  from  shipments  made  to 
Wyoming  and  Chicago,  but  in  1886  did  not  amount  to  more  than  half  that,  the  most 
of  them  going  to  Nebraska  for  ieeders.  More  than  one  prominent  stockman  says  there 
is  no  place  on  earth  where  they  eat  such  good,  juicy  beef  as  in  Utah. 

SHEEP. 

If  the  census  reports  of  1880  were  true,  the  growth  of  our  sheep  interests  is  the 
most  remarkable  of  all  our  industries.  They  claimed  to  find  only  233,121  head  in  our 
Territory.  To-day,  averaging  the  opinions  of  the  best-informed  sheep  men  among  us, 
and  counting  lambs,  there  are  not  less  than  2,400,000,  worth  $7,000,000.  The  same 
figures  are  arrived  at  by  figuring  back  from  the  wool  clip  of  last  year.  Notwithstand- 
ing these  great  numbers,  Utah  is  still  a  buyer  of  sheep,  and  the  tide  is  inward,  especially 
for  heavy  shearers,  sheep  men  having  all  learned  that  it  costs  as  much  to  herd  flocks 
yielding  3  pounds  as  those  yielding  8  pounds  per  head. 

LAND. 

There  is  a  vast  area  of  land  unsurveyed,  and  of  the  surveyed  land 
not  more  than  twenty-five  per  cent  is  cultivated.  The  land  not  yet 
settled  upon  extends  all  over  the  Territory  north  and  south,  and  much 
of  it  is  equal  to  that  which  has  been  located  under  the  pre-emption  or 
homestead  laws.  In  addition  to  much  that  could  be  converted  to 
immediate  use  by  reason  of  the  presence  of  water  for  irrigating  pur- 
poses, there  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  which  could  be  utilized 
by  the  construction  of  irrigating  ditches  or  the  boring  of  artesian  wells. 


%m 


66) 


I^AIIi^OADS. 

THE  prospects  of  development  from  this  source  are  deserving  of 
special  attention  and  consideration.  There  was  a  time,  and  not 
very  many  years  ago,  when  residents  and  property  owners  of  the 
Eastern  States,  burdened  with  large  families,  and  hearing  of  western  pro- 
gress, started  on  prospecting  tours  through  the  States  of  Kansas,  Texas, 
Iowa,  and  Nebraska.  To  the  eastern  farmer  the  distance,  at  that  time, 
seemed  a  great  one,  and  life  on  the  western  prairies  was  too  uninviting 
to  woo  him  away  from  what  were  then  considered  the  centres  of  civiliza- 
tion and  refinement.  In  the  East  there  were  schools  and  churches  ;  in 
the  West  there  were  few  of  these  evidences  of  civilization.  The  mother 
who  bravely  ventured,  for  the  sake  of  her  little  ones,  to  seek  a  home 
on  the  prairie,  was  too  often  compelled  to  convert  her  dug-out  into 
a  temple  and  a  school-room,  and  to  officiate  therein  as  a  minister  and 
teacher.  But  such  brave  hearts  are  deserving  of  rich  blessings,  and 
the  Almighty  has  showered  prosperity  upon  them  in  proportion  to 
their  deserts.  Where,  ten  years  ago,  the  buffalo  and  the  coyote  ran 
unmolested,  temples  and  school-houses  rear  to-day  their  magnificent 
proportions  to  the  sky,  and  defy  comparison  with  the  proudest  struc- 
tures of  the  kind  to  be  found  in  New  England  ;  and  the  parents,  who 
have  fought  a  noble  fight,  are  contented  and  happy.  Their  sons  and 
daughters  have  grown  up  around  them,  and  in  all  that  constitutes 
true  manhood  are  the  peers  of  the  most  representative  American. 

While  the  western  pioneer  was  speculating  on  the  future,  there 
were  many  in  the  Eastern  States  who  thought  land  at  home  for  $50  or 
$60  per  acre  was  a  better  investment  than  government  bonds,  and  pur- 
chased at  those  figures.  Ten  years  have  brought  about  a  change,  a 

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68  RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE   CITY. 

wonderful  change,  such  only  as  can  be  seen  in  our  glorious  land.  Dis- 
tances have  been  shortened  by  the  construction  of  splendidly  equipped 
lines  of  railroad.  The  West  is  no  longer  so  far  distant  from  civiliza- 
tion as  it  was  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago.  If  anything,  it  can  boast  of  a 
nobler  and  more  generous  civilization  than  the  narrow  and  stunted 
growth  from  which  it  sprang.  Every  rank  of  life  in  our  prosperous 
communities  is  filled  with  men  and  women  on  whose  brows  there  is  no 
mark  of  shame  or  degradation,  and  whose  training  and  education  have 
fitted  them  for  association  with  the  most  intelligent  and  refined. 

And  while  these  changes,  or  rather  while  this  growth,  has  been  going 
on  in  the  West,  the  land  that  was  considered  a  better  investment  than 
Government  bonds  in  the  East  has  been  depreciating  in  value  until 
to-day  it  can  be  bought  for  fifty  per  cent,  of  its  original  cost,  and  those 
who  thought  the  West  so  far  away  no  longer  look  on  the  distance  with 
fear.  The  tables  have  been  turned,  and  the  people  of  the  West  are  no 
longer  forced  to  have  recourse  to  extraordinary  advertising  or  special 
invitations  to  lure  their  Eastern  neighbors  to  locate  amongst  them. 
The  people  of  the  East  have  grown  to  realize  that  the  "  Wild  West"  is 
not  so  wild  as  they  were  taught  to  believe  ;  that  the  opportunities  here 
afforded  are  too  great  and  too  attractive  to  be  longer  ignored.  The 
record  of  the  West  is  established,  and  now  thousands  are  rushing  to  us 
to  share  in  the  advantages  and  prosperity  which  are  to  be  found  on 
every  side,  and  which  are  gradually  becoming  better  known  to  the 
people  of  the  East. 

To  the  Railroads  more  than  to  any  other  factor  in  the  development 
of  the  West  these  changes  are  due,  and  it  is  therefore  well  to  consider, 
in  connection  with  the  future  of  Salt  Lake,  the  prospects  it  enjoys  in 
this  direction. 

At  the  present  time  Salt  Lake  City  is  connected  with  the  East  by 
two  independent  lines  of  railroad,  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Western, 
traversing  a  route  which  for  wild,  rugged  mountain  scenery  and  evi- 
dences of  extraordinary  engineering  skill  has  no  equal  in  the  world. 
The  sublime  and  awe-inspiring  views  of  the  Grand  Canon  of  the 
Arkansas,  the  Royal  Gorge,  the  Black  Canon  of  the  Gunnison,  and  the 
lofty  mountain  peaks  round  which  winds  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande 
Western  Railway,  would  amply  repay  a  journey  of  any  distance.  Every- 
thing that  can  lend  charm  and  enchantment  to  a  journey  is  to  be  found 
on  this  route,  and  so  fully  have  its  merits  in  this  respect  been  recog- 
nized that  it  has  been  aptly  denominated  "  the  Scenic  Line  of  the 
World."  Tke  policy  of  this  road  is  universally  considered  as  ^riendly 


RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  69 

to  Salt  Lake  and  conducive  to  the  development  of  Utah  Territory  ; 
and  its  management  has  resulted  in  a  vast  increase  of  patronage  and 
an  improvement  in  the  industrial  life  of  the  Territory,  which  promises 
to  lead  to  the  speedy  construction  of  rival  lines.  To  estimate  correctly 
the  prospects  of  Salt  Lake  City  for  the  construction  of  new  lines  of 
railroads  it  may  be  well  to  take  a  retrospect  of  a  few  years.  The  West 
has  grown  so  rapidly  that  it  is  only  within  the  past  five  or  six  years  that 
the  great  trunk  lines  have  been  stretched  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  Burlington  &  Missouri  Railroad, 
the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe,  the  Missouri  Pacific,  and,  it  might 
be  added,  the  Rock  Island  &  Pacific,  have  reached  Denver  within  the 
time  mentioned.  The  inducements  which  led  to  the  construction  of 
these  lines  have  not  remained  unnoticed  by  the  Chicago  &  Alton,  the 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul,  the  Chicago  &  North-Western,  and  other  roads 
which  realize  their  dependency  on  the  western  lines  in  the  handling  of 
western  freight,  and  their  exclusion  from  a  share  in  the  profits  of  west- 
ern passenger  traffic — an  item  in  railroad  financiering  which  is  now 
attracting  special  attention. 

The  question  now  arises,  will  the  Burlington,  Missouri  Pacific,  the 
Atchinson,  and  the  Rock  Island  suspend  operations  in  their  march 
westward,  and  leave  a  richer  country  to  the  few  lines  that  have  already 
reached  the  Pacific  Coast  ?  The  history  of  the  past  few  years,  and 
the  conditions  of  the  present,  leave  no  room  for  doubt  concerning  the 
future  movements  of  these  lines.  The  Burlington  has  already  sur- 
veyed a  line  from  Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  to  Green  River,  Utah,  towards  Grand 
Junction,  with  a  view  evidently  of  connecting  with  the  Denver  &:  Rio 
Grande  Western,  which  would  seem  destined  to  handle  all  the  Utah 
traffic,  not  only  for  the  Burlington,  but  for  the  Rock  Island, 
Midland,  Atchison,  and  Missouri  Pacific,  until  such  time  as  the 
increase  of  business  will  render  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande 
Western  road  inadequate  to  the  demands  made  upon  it,  and  ne- 
cessitate the  construction  of  independent  lines  through  Utah.  The 
Burlington  now  owns  and  is  operating  west  of  the  Continental  Divide, 
under  the  management  of  R.  C.  Hills,  an  able  mineralogist,  extensive 
mines  of  coal  and  iron,  and  opening  up  marble  quarries.  This  road  is 
operating  the  only  anthracite  coal  mine  in  the  West,  at  Crested  Butte, 
and  owns  extensive  deposits  on  Rock  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Grand 
River,  over  the  full  extent  of  which  a  preliminary  survey  has  been 
made.  These  properties  are  all  located  west  of  the  Continental 


(70) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  71 

Divide,  which  gives  rise  to  more  than  a  mere  presumption  that  they 
will  soon  be  reached  by  the  road  that  owns  and  operates  them. 

In  addition  to  the  Burlington  there  is  the  Missouri  Pacific,  which  in- 
cludes Salt  Lake  in  its  plans  of  extension.  This  line  has  now  reached 
Pueblo,  where  a  company  was  recently  organized  under  the  name  of  the 
"  Pueblo,  Gunnison  &  Pacific  Railway."  This  is  supposed  to  be  identical 
with  the  Missouri  Pacific,  and  is  generally  so  regarded,  the  community  of 
interest  being  apparent  from  the  friendship  and  business  relations 
existing  between  the  incorporators  of  the  new  and  the  owners  of  the 
old  road.  The  Pueblo  &  Gunnison  is  projected  through  the  San  Luis 
Valley  to  Saguache,  thence  via  Cochetopa  Pass  to  Lake  City,  Col., 
and  north  to  Salt  Lake  City.  The  Cochetopa  Pass  is  but  9,000  feet 
high,  the  lowest  of  all  the  passes  in  Colorado,  and  has  the  recommend- 
ation of  never  having  been  blocked  to  wagon  traffic  ''within  the  mem- 
ory of  the  oldest  inhabitant." 

Another  road  which  will  build  to  Salt  Lake  is  the  Rock  Island  & 
Pacific.  This  road  has  remained  deaf  to  the  appeals  and  invitations 
-of  Denver  and  Pueblo,  and  has  selected  Colorado  Springs,  the  starting- 
point  of  the  Colorado  Midland,  as  its  present  western  terminus.  At  one 
time  it  was  generally  regarded  as  certain  that  the  Colorado  Midland 
was  owned  and  sustained  by  the  Atchison  &  Topeka;  but  its  present 
condition  has  dispelled  this  notion,  and  the  present  surmise,  which  is 
.strengthened  by  the  facts,  is  that  the  Midland,  if  not  owned,  soon  will 
be,  by  the  Rock  Island.  The  Colorado  Midland  is  bound  to  play  an 
important  part  in  the  railroad  plans  of  the  West  within  a  very  short 
time.  It  has  made  two  surveys  from  its,  present  terminus,  Newcastle, 
this  side  of  the  range,  to  Salt  Lake  City,  but  it  does  not  seem  unlikely 
that  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  proper  would  use  one  of  these  surveys 
or  parallel  it.  The  developments  of  a  few  months  may  drive  the  Mid- 
land and  its  backers  to  a  coalition  with  the  Rio  Grande  Western  by  the 
-construction  of  a  line  from  Newcastle  to  the  terminus  of  the  Western 
on  the  Colorado  state  line,  a  distance  of  about  120  miles.  In  that  event 
it  would  be  safe  to  bet  that  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande,  which  has 
already  reached  Glenwood  Springs,  would  bridge  the  distance  between 
that  point  and  Salt  Lake  as  quick  or  quicker  than  the  Midland  would 
make  connection  with  the  Western.  The  history  of  the  Rio  Grande 
and  Midland  roads  warrants  this  assumption. 

Then  again,  there  is  a  probability  of  a  coalition  of  the  Atchison  & 
Topeka  with  one  of  these  lines  in  an  effort  to  reach  Salt  Lake. 

The  roads  mentioned  have  already  built  to  the  eastern  base  of  the 


72  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

Rocky  Mountains,  and  are  evidently  determined  to  push  westward  to 
the  Pacific.  That  they  will  reach  Salt  Lake  is  a  matter  of  course,  for 
it  is  the  central  industrial  point  west  of  the  Divide  and  east  of  San 
Francisco,  and  the  railroads  can  find  nothing  north  or  south  of  it  to 
divert  their  attention  from  the  freight  and  passenger  traffic  centering 
there.  The  Chicago  &  North-Western  is  built  to  Fort  Fetterman, 
Wyo.,  and  surveyed  to  Salt  Lake  City  by  way  of  Ogden.  There  are 
some  who  predict  that  this  road  will  be  the  first  of  the  many  mentioned 
to  reach  Salt  Lake. 

But  the  Chicago  &  Alton  and  the  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  will  not 
long  remain  handicapped  in  the  handling  of  western  freight  by  the 
Burlington,  Rock  Island,  Missouri  Pacific  and  Atchison  roads;  and  so  it 
may  reasonably  be  supposed  that  these  lines  will  soon  reach  out  for 
their  share  of  western  travel  and  traffic.  The  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul 
is  already  said  to  be  behind  a  scheme  for  the  construction  of  a  road 
from  Leavenworth,  Kas.,  to  Salt  Lake  and  Los  Angeles  by  way  of 
Denver,  the  surveys  of  which  are  now  being  made.  The  Utah  Central 
is  extending  its  line  southward  from  Salt  Lake  City  to  Los  Angeles, 
and  there  is  a  good  prospect  of  the  Salt  Lake  &  Los  Angeles  Railroad 
being  begun  ere  many  months.  There  is  one  feature  which  should 
not  be  lost  sight  of  in  this  connection.  The  problem  of  crossing  the 
Continental  Divide  has  already  been  solved  by  two  roads,  the  Denver 
&  Rio  Grande  and  the  Midland,  so  that  the  extension  of  these  roads  to- 
Salt  Lake  is  an  absolute  certainty.  The  territory  intervening  between 
Glenwood  Springs,  Newcastle,  and  Salt  Lake  is  all  mesa  or  plateau 
land,  which  offers  no  difficulties  in  the  way  of  grading  or  construction; 
and  while  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  will  no  doubt  cross  into  Salt  Lake 
from  the  White  River  country,  the  Midland  is  sure  to  make  connection 
with  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Western,  which  is  now  and  has  always 
been  prepared  to  broad-gauge  its  track  to  connect  with  this  and  the 
other  lines  which  are  building  towards  Grand  Junction. 

The  prospects  enjoyed  by  Salt  Lake  for  railroad  facilities  within 
the  next  year  or  two  give  positive  assurance  of  a  bright  future,  and  are 
a  guarantee  to  all  of  an  extensive  and  rapid  development.  The  won- 
derful resources  of  Utah,  when  added  to  the  rivalry  existing  between 
railroad  companies,  and  their  eagerness  to  extend  their  operations  to 
the  Pacific,  will  make  Salt  Lake  one  of  the  greatest  railroad  centres  in. 
the  West  within  the  next  two  years. 


TAXATION. 

THERE  is  no  State  or  Territory  in  the  Union  so  free  from  indebt- 
edness as  Utah.  There  is  scarcely  a  county  or  municipality  in 
the  Territory  that  owes  any  money.  Salt  Lake  City,  the  metrop- 
olis, owes  about  $100,000,  the  balance  of  a  bonded  indebtedness  of  $250,- 
ooo  contracted  some  years  since  for  the  construction  of  water  canals  or 
ditches.  Immunity  from  debt,  however,  is  not  the  result  solely  of  a  too 
conservative  policy  or  the  lack  of  public  improvements,  as  the  wants  of  the 
public  are  as  well  supplied  as  those  of  other  communities  of  the  same 
size  throughout  the  West,  and  many  new  improvements  have  been  in- 
augurated and  are  being  carried  on,  such  as  sewerage,  street  paving, 
laying  of  sidewalks  on  residence  streets,  construction  of  public  build- 
ings, storage  of  water,  etc.,  which  justify  Salt  Lake  City  in  the  claim  of 
being  more  progressive  than  the  cities  of  Omaha,  Kansas  City,  or  Den- 
ver when  they  possessed  the  same  and  even  a  larger  population.  A 
plan  for  sewerage  has  already  been  approved  by  the  City  Council,  and 
ordinances  have  been  drafted  for  the  execution  of  the  work,  and  also 
for  the  paving  of  streets  and  the  laying  of  sidewalks,  although  the  present 
condition  of  our  streets  does  not  make  this  an  undertaking  of  absolute 
necessity.  Our  Fire  Department  is  well  equipped,  and  has  always  been 
found  equal  to  any  call  made  upon  it;  and  yet  measures  are  being  con- 
sidered for  increasing  its  efficiency  by  the  construction  and  equipment 
of  other  engine-houses. 

The  present  rate  of  taxation  is  twelve  mills  on  the  dollar  for  Terri- 
torial, County,  and  School  purposes — six  for  the  Territory,  three  for 
the  County,  and  three  for  Schools — while  the  municipal  tax  of  Salt 
Lake  City  is  only  five  mills,  making  a  total  of  seventeen  mills. 

Though  this  tax  is  a  small  one  if  viewed  absolutely,  it  will  appear 

(73) 


74 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CPTY 


still  smaller  when  the  values  which  serve  as  a  basis  of  assessment  are 
considered.  In  1887  the  assessed  valuation  of  Salt  Lake  County 
was  $12,457,625.  Though  the  schedules  for  the  present  year  are  not 
yet  complete,  the  assessed  valuation  may  be  estimated  at  $17,000,000. 
But  even  with  this  increase  the  assessed  valuation  in  many  instances  is 
not  more  than  10  per  cent,  of  the  actual  value.  Take,  for  instance,  the 
land  lying  beyond  the  Jordan  River  west  of  the  city.  The  taxable  valu- 
ation of  this  land  ranges  from  eight  to  fifteen  dollars  per  acre,  and  yet 
none  of  it  can  be  bought  for  less  than  a  hundred  dollars,  while  a 
great  deal  is  held  at  figures  ranging  from  $300  to  $800  per  acre.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  choice  business  property,  most  of  which  is  held 
at  $1,000  per  front  foot,  and  assessed  at  from  $100  to  $150. 

A  fair  estimate  of  the  actual  value  of  property  in  Salt  Lake  County 
would  not  be  less  than  $50,000,000,  or  $15,000,000  more  than  the  as- 
sessed valuation  of  all  the  property  in  the  Territory.  On  the  score 
of  taxation,  therefore,  there  can  be  no  just  ground  for  complaint 
on  the  part  of  any  citizen  or  property  ownec. 


GHUI^GHES. 

IT  will  surprise  many  in  the  East  to  learn  that  all  the  religious 
denominations  are  well  represented  in  Salt  Lake  City.  It  is  not 
an  uncommon  error  to  suppose  that  Mormonism  is  the  only  creed 
taught  and  practiced  in  Utah,  and  many  strangers  who  visit  the  city 
express  astonishment  at  finding  churches  in  which  they  can  worship 
according  to  their  own  religious  methods.  There  is  no  interference 
with  religious  freedom  in  Salt  Lake.  Catholics,  Episcopalians,  Presby- 
terians, Lutherans,  Baptists,  Congregationalists,  Israelites,  Methodists, 
The  Latter  Day  Saints,  the  Reorganized  Church  of  Latter-Day 
Saints,  and  many  other  religious  denominations  have,  each,  their 
separate  places  of  worship,  cuts  of  some  of  which  will  be  found  among 
these  pages.  Most  of  the  buildings  owned  by  these  congregations  are 
large  and  elegant,  and  the  attendance  at  each  of  the  churches  on  Sun- 
days affords  no  ground  to  strangers  or  visitors  for  adverse  or  unfavor- 
able comment  or  criticism.  In  fact,  were  it  not  for  the  expectations  of 
strangers  arising  from  previously  conceived  and  prejudiced  opinions, 
they  could  find  nothing  in  the  outward  religious  condition  of  the  city  to 
remind  the  most  exacting  of  their  presence  in  a  Mormon  community. 
Altogether  there  are  eleven  Christian  churches  and  thirteen  Sunday 
schools  in  Salt  Lake  City,  exclusive  of  Mormon  institutions,  and  eight 
academies  and  seminaries  under  the  patronage  of  these  churches. 

EPISCOPAL    CHURCH. 

In  1864  Bishop  D.  S.  Tuttle,  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  visited  Salt 
Lake  and  organized  a  congregation,  which  is  to-day  the  largest, 
perhaps,  and  the  wealthiest  of  all  the  denominations.  St.  Mark's 
Cathedral  is  worth,  with  improvements,  about  $75,000.  It  has  a 

(75) 


Churches  of  Salt  Lake. 


(76) 


RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE   CITY.  77 

hospital  and  school  attached,  the  former  having  been  built  at  a  cost  of 
about  $10,000  and  the  latter  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $25,000.  The  average 
annual  attendance  at  the  hospital  is  about  550  patients,  cared  for  at  a 
cost  of  $11,000.  St.  Mark's  School  has  an  attendance  of  about  500 
pupils,  while  Rowland  Hall,  an  institution  for  education  in  the  higher 
branches,  has  an  attendance,  including  boarders,  of  75  pupils.  / 

The  Episcopalians  have  also  another  place  of  worship  known  as 
St.  Paul's  Chapel,  erected  at  a  cost  of  $20,000.  Rev.  F.  Putnam  is 
rector  of  the  Cathedral,  and  Rev.  C.  M.  Armstrong  pastor  of  St.  Paul's. 

THE    CATHOLIC    CHURCH. 

In  1866  the  first  Catholic  priest  visited  Salt  Lake  from  California. 
The  visit  was  repeated  the  year  following,  when  a  site  was  purchased 
for  St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  which  was  not  completed  till  1872.  Since 
that  time  the  membership  has  grown  so  as  to  require  at  present  the 
services  of  six  priests  and  a  bishop,  Rev.  Father  Scanlan,  who  had 
charge  of  the  territory  since  1873,  having  been  promoted  to  the 
Episcopacy  last  year.  Catholic  churches  are  also  to  be  found  in 
Ogden,  Park  City,  Eureka,  Frisco,  and  Silver  Reef,  and  the  schools 
connected  with  the  churches  in  Salt  Lake,  Ogden,  and  Park  City  are 
among  the  best  equipped  and  best  conducted  institutions  of  the  kind 
in  the  West.  The  Ogden  School,  which  is  under  the  charge  of  the 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  has  a  patronage  extending  into  California, 
Nevada,  Wyoming,  Montana,  and  Idaho,  while  the  Park  City  School  has 
an  enrolled  attendance  of  175  pupils.  In  Salt  Lake  City  St.  Mary's 
Academy,  erected  in  1875,  has  an  attendance  of  135  boarders  and  150 
day  pupils. 

Bishop  Scanlan  resides  in  All  Hallows'  College,  which  has  an  enroll- 
ment of  sixty  boarders  and  seventy-five  day  pupils,  who  are  cared  for 
by  a  corps  of  competent  teachers  under  the  supervision  of  the  bishop. 

CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH. 

There  are  two  organized  Congregational  churches  in  Salt  Lrke, 
and  four  Sunday  Schools,  with  a  total  enrollment  of  about  600  child- 
ren. Rev.  J.  B.  Thrall  is  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational,  which  is 
free. from  debt^and  self-supporting.  Salt  Lake  Academy  belongs  to 
this  denomination,  and  is  an  educational  institution  of  high  grade  and 
fine  equipment,  which  under  the  principalship  of  Rev.  Professor  E.  Ben- 
ner,  stands  in  the  first  rank  of  similar  schools  anywhere  in  the  West. 
There  are  several  other  organized  Congregational  churches  in  Utah, 
besides  nearly  a  dozen  preaching  stations. 


Churches  of  Salt  Lake. 
'(78) 


RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  79 

The  New  West  Education  Commission,  a  society  supported  and 
maintained  by  the  charitable  contributions  of  Congregationalists 
throughout  the  East,  has  established  between  twenty  and  thirty  schools, 
including  four  academies  of  excellent  grade,  throughout  the  Territory. 

PRESBYTERIANS. 

The  Presbyterians  have  two  organized  churches  in  Salt  Lake  and  a 
high  grade  school  known  as  the  Collegiate  Institute,  which  is  under  the 
able  leadership  of  Prof.  J.  F.  Millspaugh.  This  denomination  sup- 
ports about  30  Christian  day  schools  in  Utah. 

METHODISTS. 

The  Methodists  have  an  able  captain  in  Rev.  Dr.  Iliff,  one  of  the 
best  known  and  most  admired  clergymen  in  Utah.  Of  this  church 
there  are  two  branches,  the  Scandinavians,  under  the  leadership  of 
Rev.  P.  A.  H.  Franklin,  being  engaged  in  the  erection  of  a  substantial 
brick  edifice  on  Second  East  St.  This  denomination  has  also  a  large 
academy  under  the  management  of  Prof.  Storey,  and  is  engaged  in  the 
work  of  construction  in  other  parts  of  the  Territory. 

THE    BAPTISTS. 

The  Baptists  also  have  a  church  and  school  in  Salt  Lake,  and  are 
represented  elsewhere  throughout  the  Territory;  and  ' 

THE    SCANDINAVIAN    LUTHERANS 

have  just  completed  a  $16,000  church  with  a  school  basement,  on 
Fourth  East  and  Second  South  streets,  and  have  a  membership  of 
about  150. 

THE    REORGANIZED    CHURCH    OF    LATTER-DAY    SAINTS. 

This  Church  began  its  labors  in  Utah  in  1863.  It  accepts  Mormon* 
ism  as  taught  prior  to  1844,  being  a  Christian  sect  which  superadds  to 
biblical  revelation  the  revelation  claimed  to  have  been  made  to  Joseph 
Smith.  The  church  has  branches  and  members  in  most  of  the  towns 
of  the  Territory,  and  the  value  of  its  property  in  Salt  Lake  is  nearly 
$10,000. 

The  foregoing  will  suffice  to  convey  a  sufficient  understanding  of 
the  condition  of  the  Christian  denominations  in  Salt  Lake  City  and 
Utah  Territory.  It  is  sought  only  to  impart  information  concerning 
the  actual  conditions  of  life  ia  Salt  Lake,  and  not  to  enter  into  com- 


(80) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 


81 


parisons  nor  to  give  a  record  or  history  of  the  progress  that  has  been 
made  and  the  difficulties  that  have  been  overcome. 

HOSPITALS  AND  CHARITABLE  INSTITUTIONS. 

There  is  no  city  of  its  size  in  the  West  better  provided  with  bene- 
volent and  charitable  institutions  than  Salt  Lake.  The  sick  are  well 
provided  for  in  the  maintenance  of  the  Hospitals  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
St.  Mark's,  and  the  Deseret — all  first  class  institutions  where  patients 
are  cared  for  by  competent  and  kind  nurses,  and  physicians  and  sur- 
geons whose  record  is  a  guaranty  of  their  skill  and  intelligence. 


Public  School. 


Schools. 
(82) 


SCHOOLS. 

THE  Public  School  Buildings  of  Utah  are  not  equal  in  appearance 
to  the  beautiful  structures  of  a  like  character  to  be  found  every- 
where throughout  the  great  Commonwealths  of  the  West.  This 
is  due,  in  a  measure,  to  the  sentiment  arid  policy  which  have  kept  the 
counties  and  municipalities  of  the  Territory  free  from  debt.  Under 
the  Legislature  of  Utah  no  provision  has  been  made  thus  far  for  the 
levying  of  taxes  or  the  incurring  of  bonded  indebtedness  for  the  con- 
struction of  elegant  and  commodious  school-houses.  Elsewhere  the 
burdens  of  taxation  for  such  purposes  are  shifted,  in  part,  to  the 
shoulders  of  future  generations.  The  Mormon  people  who  have  made 
the  laws  of  Utah  have  never  deemed  it  wise  or  advisable  to  make 
future  generations  assume  a  liability  in  the  creation  of  which  they 
could  take  no  part,  and  hence  have  been  content  to  provide  solely  for 
the  wants  of  the  present.  Whenever  a  school  has  been  needed,  the 
sum  necessary  for  its  construction  and  equipment  has  been  raised  by 
direct  and  immediate  taxation,  no  authority  having  yet  been  given  to 
contract  any  bonded  indebtedness  for  such  purpose.  As  a  conse- 
quence, the  public  school  buildings  are  small.  But  the  necessity  for  a 
change  of  policy  in  this  respect  has  been  advocated  and  is  becoming 
generally  acknowledged.  It  is  seen  that  future  generations,  as  well  as 
the  present,  will  share  in  the  benefits  resulting 'from  the  possession  of 
commodious  schools,  and  the  justice  of  sharing  the  liability  incurred  in 
their  construction  is  no  longer  regarded  as  a  problem  that  needs 
solution.  The  justice  of  the  maxim  that  those  who  enjoy  the  benefits 
should  share  in  the  expense  incurred  in  securing  them  is  being 

(83) 


84  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

generally  acknowledged,  and  future  legislation  will  no  doubt  accord 
with  this  maxim. 

A  great  many  persons  labor  under  the  erroneous  impression  that 
there  are  no  public  schools  in  Salt  Lake.  The  system  is  no  different 
from  what  prevails  elsewhere  throughout  the  United  States,  except  as 
regards  the  methods  of  raising  the  necessary  funds  for  the  erection  and 
equipment  of  buildings  and  the  compensation  of  teachers.  The 
amount  of  taxes  levied  is  inadequate  to  provide  for  construction  and 
compensation,  and  the  deficit  is  raised  by  voluntary  contributions  on 
the  .part  of  pupils— a  system  which,  by  reason  of  its  operation  on  the 
children  of  the  poor,  may  be  considered  as  too  much  out  of  line  with 
the  common  school  system  of  the  country.  It  is  useless  to  say  that  our 
system  has  no  defects;  for  while  no  pupil  is  excluded  from  school  by 
reason  of  his  inability  to  pay  the  small  amount  of  the  contribution,  it 
is  universally  regarded  as  a  misfortune  for  any  child  to  be  forced  to 
reveal  his  poverty  by  making  application  for  free  admission.  The  con- 
tributions of  pupils  are  very  small — not  exceeding,  perhaps,  a  dollar  and 
a  half  or  two  dollars  per  quarter;  but  trifling  as  is  the  sum  it  deprives 
the  schools  of  the  character  they  possess  elsewhere  of  being  free  and 
public. 

It  can  be  said,  however,  that  public  sentiment  is  undergoing  a  great 
change  upon  this  subject,  and  the  favorable  tendency  of  this  sentiment 
can  be  observed  more  particularly  in  the  system  of  education  itself. 
The  schools  of  Utah  are  non-sectarian  in  theory,  being  popular  institu- 
tions established  and  maintained  by  popular  vote  and  taxation  of  the 
people.  In  the  past,  it  is  true,  the  schools  were  organized  by  a  people 
who  exercised  almost  exclusive  control  over  all  the  public  institutions 
of  the  Territory,  and  who  may  have  found  it  unnecessary  to  consider 
the  wants  or  wishes  of  the  few  who  differed  with  them  on  matters  of 
religion  and  education.  As  the  population  grows  more  diversified  the 
rights  of  the  increasing  minority  are  being  recognized  and  acknow- 
ledged, and  for  that  reason  religious  instruction  is  now  forbidden  in  the 
public  schools.  The  federal  government  exercises  an  indirect  surveil- 
lance in  such  matters,  the  territorial  superintendent  of  education  being 
appointed  by  the  governor,  and  the  right  of  citizens  to  have  religion 
excluded  from  the  schools  has  been  tested  and  maintained  by  the 
courts,  investigation  into  the  character  of  the  teachings  having  been 
made  for  that  purpose,  and  having  satisfactorily  proven  that  there  was 
no  interference  with  the  religious  faith  of  any  class  of  pupils. 


RESOURCES   OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  85 

DENOMINATIONAL  SCHOOLS. 

The  denominational  schools  are  the  source  of  special  pride  and 
gratification  to  Salt  Lake  City,  being  second  to  none  of  their  kind 
in  the  West.  The  growth  and  prosperity  of  these  institutions  are  at- 
tributable, in  a  measure,  to  the  imperfect  system  by  which  the  public 
schools  were  regulated  in  the  Territory.  The  religious  denominations 
have  grown  and  prospered  in  Salt  Lake  to  an  extraordinary  extent  with- 
in the  last  five  yetirs,  and,  as  the  public  schools  had  been  creations  of  the 
Mormon  majority,  parents  of  other  denominations  naturally  entertained 
feelings  of  distrust  concerning  their  character,  which  led  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  denominational  schools  by  each  of  the  churches.  As  a  con- 
sequence the  Catholics,  the  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Methodists, 
Baptists,  and  Congregationalists  have  built  schools  and  colleges  which 
in  appearance  as  well  as  in  the  success  of  their  methods,  will  compare 
favorably  with  the  best  institutions  of  the  kind  in  the  East.  In  the 
Catholic  College  known  as  All  Hallows  the  pupils  are  given  a  full  col- 
legiate or  university  course,  while  in  some  of  the  other  schools  pupils 
are  prepared  for  matriculation  in  the  universities  of  the  East,  to  which 
some  young  lady  graduates  of  Salt  Lake  schools  have  already  been 
admitted.  All  Hallows,  St.  Mary's  Academy,  Hammond  Hall,  a  Con- 
gregational institution,  Rowland  Hall,  Episcopalian,  St.  Mark's,  also 
Episcopalian,  and  the  Collegiate  Institute,  Presbyterian,  are  all  fine 
structures,  splendidly  equipped  and  largely  attended.  Each  of  these 
establishments  is  well  provided  with  competent  corps  of  professors  and 
teachers,  and  the  accommodations  are  ample  for  several  hundred  stu- 
dents. In  addition  to  the  colleges  mentioned,  the  Baptists  and  Meth- 
odists have  fine  buildings  and  a  large  school  attendance;  in  fact,  all  the 
religious  denominations  are  justly  proud  of  their  success  in  the  educa- 
tional line. 

DESERET    UNIVERSITY. 

This  is  a  public  institution,  non-sectarian  in  character,  and  main- 
tained at  the  expense  of  the  Territory.  It  is  a  large,  substantial 
stone  building  situated  within  a  few  minutes'  walk  of  the  business 
centre  of  Salt  Lake  City.  Dr.  John  R.  Park,  a  gentleman  of  schol- 
arly attainments  and  broad  views,  is  President  of  the  Faculty,  and  has 
charge  of  the  internal  economy  of  the  establishment,  while  the  gen- 
eral management  is  in  the  hands  of  a  Chancellor  and  Board  of  Re- 
gents elected  by  the  Territorial  Legislature.  The  names  of  the  gentle- 
men are  a  sufficient  guaranty  of  successful  and  impartial  management. 


(86) 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 


87 


They  are — Chancellor:  Orson  F.  Whitney.  Regents:  John  T.  Caine, 
W.  W.  Riter,  Elias  A.  Smith,  Fred  H.  Auerbach,  F.  W.  Jennings,  Geo. 
M.  Scott,  James  Sharp,  Edward  Benner,  C.  C.  Richards,  A.  W.  Carl- 
son, W.  M.  Stewart,  and  Saml.  R.  Thurman.  Treasurer:  Thos.  G. 
Webber. 

Appropriations  are  made  from  the  territorial  treasury  for  the 
preservation  and  improvement  of  the  buildings,  the  compensation  of 
the  faculty,  and  gratuitous  instruction  of  students  who  consent  to  serve 
as  public  teachers  in  the  public  schools  after  graduating.  An  appro- 
priation has  also  been  made  for  a  department  in  the  interest  of  deaf- 
mutes,  and  the  generous  action  of  the  legislature  in  its  liberal  recog- 
nition of  the  benefits  resulting  to  the  youth  of  the  Territory  from  the 
maintenance  of  the  institution  gives  assurance  of  a  liberal  future  policy 
in  connection  with  the  public  school  system. 


(88) 


THERE  is  more  foliage  in  Salt  Lake  City  than  in  any  city  of  its 
size  in  the  world.  Its  homes  are  all  embowered  in  shade  and 
fruit  trees,  which  overshadow  lawns  radiant  with  the  hues  of 
many  flowers.  The  city  is  half  forest  and  half  orchard,  and  is 
acknowledgedly  the  most  picturesque  in  America. 

There  is  no  inland  city  that  enjoys  so  many  advantages  as  Salt  Lake 
in  the  line  of  summer  resorts.  The  Great  Salt  Lake  from  which  the 
city  derives  its  name  covers  2,500  square  miles,  and  from  its  depths  rise 
several  mountain  islands,  some  of  which  are  used  as  ranches,  and  on 
which  the  finest  kind  of  fruit  and  vegetables  are  grown.  A  steamer  and 
several  yachts  are  afloat  on  the  lake,  affording  tourists  and  visitors  an 
opportunity  to  reach  the  islands  and  the  distant  shores.  Directly 
to  the  west  of  the  city  are  two  resorts  known  as  Lake  Park  and 
Garfield  Beach,  where  citizens  and  strangers  enjoy  the  luxury  of  a  salt 
bath  during  the  summer  season.  The  water  of  the  lake  carries  over 
fourteen  per  cent,  of  pure  salt,  and  is  so  dense  that  the  human  body 
will  float  upon  its  surface  without  effort.  The  beach  of  the  lake  is  soft, 
white  sand,  and  the  water  is  clear  as  crystal,  so  that  the  seashore  can 
not  possibly  possess  more  attractions  for  the  bather.  These  resorts  are 
within  half-an-hour's  ride  of  the  city,  and  ample  and  elegant  accommo- 
dations have  been  provided  for  visitors.  During  the  summer  trains  run 
to  the  lake  every  hour  during  the  day  and  occasionally  as  late  as  mid- 
night, and  the  view  presented  is  little  different  from  that  of  the  bathing 
resorts  on  the  Atlantic  Coast. 

Within  the  city  limits  are  situated  numerous  sulphur  springs  vary- 
ing in  temperature,  some  being  so  hot  that  cold  water  must  be  added 
before  the  bather  enters.  These  springs  are  provided  with  bath-houses, 
and  their  medicinal  properties  recommend  their  use  for  various  ailments. 

(89) 


90  RESOURCES    OF*  UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

In  addition  to  the  Great  Salt  Lake  and  the  Sulphur  Springs,  there 
is  a  large  number  of  other  attractions.  At  Provo,  a  beautiful  little 
town  situated  under  the  shadows  of  the  Wasatch  Range,  is  a  body  of 
fresh  water  covering  about  200  square  miles,  known  as  Utah  Lake, 
while  in  the  mountains  are  glens  and  lakelets  and  gorges  and  canons 
which  are  sources  of  infinite  pleasure  and  delight  to  the  Eastern 
stranger. 

Pleasure  parties  may  be  organized  in  Salt  Lake  for  any  point  in  the 
mountains,  and  so  fine  are  the  roads  that  the  sightseer  may  ride  in  a 
carriage  to  the  top  of  a  mountain  from  which  a  full  view  can  be 
obtained  of  the  great  Salt  Lake  and  Utah  Lake  simultaneously,  and  at 
the  same  time  of  Salt  Lake  and  Utah  Valleys,  with  the  cities  and  settle- 
ments nestling  in  mantles  of  foliage. 

A  mountain  summer  resort  will  be  opened  this  season,  to  be  known 
as  Young's  Peak  Lodge.  It  is  situated  in  a  delightful  glade  in  Big 
Cottonwood  Canon,  at  the  head  of  the  "  Stairs  ",  about  three  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Canon,  and  sixteen  miles  from  Salt  Lake  City.  The 
route  leads  through  the  beautiful  farms  and  lanes  south  of  the  city,  over 
good  roads,  while  the  canon  trip  is  through  some  of  the  grandest 
scenery  in  America,  traversing  the  base  of  majestic  peaks  by  the  side 
of  a  mountain  torrent  and  in  the  midst  of  fine  timber  and  lovely  wild 
flowers.  Nothing  ever  before  offered  to  the  public  equals  this  in  the 
variety  and  grandeur  of  its  attractions.  Within  a  radius  of  five  miles 
are  many  beautiful  scenes.  The  waterfall  of  Covert's  Gorge,  the 
Stairs,  Young's  Peak,  Kesler's  Peak,  Lakes  Blanche,  Florence,  and 
Lilian,  the  Three  Sisters,  the  Pillars  of  the  Wasatch,  and  many  other 
wonders  that  have  not  yet  been  named,  with  perhaps  many  more  yet 
to  be  discovered  in  this  new  ground,  are  all  within  the  reach  of  the 
pedestrian,  while  the  splendid  stream  of  the  main  canon  that  flows 
past  the  Lodge  is  one  of  the  best  trout  brooks  in  Utah.  Big  Cotton- 
wood  is  a  noble  canon  ;  some  of  its  cliffs  and  walls  are  simply  terrific, 
and  its  river  comes  down  with  a  magnificent  rush.  It  has  cloud-touch- 
ing peaks,  lakes  overshadowed  by  precipices  splintered  above  and  cave- 
hollowed  below.  It  has  huge  rocky  towers  and  pine-shaded  glens  ; 
but  to  devotees  of  the  piscatorial  art,  better  than  all  is  the  chance  of 
gamey  trout  in  the  rock-pools  of  the  stream.  The  altitude  of  Young's 
Lodge  is  about  6000  feet,  while  the  peaks  that  rise  abruptly  from  the 
vale  in  which  it  is  situated  are  nearly  12,000  feet  in  height. 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  91 

SCENIC  ATTRACTIONS  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY. 

BY    H.    L.    A.    CULMER. 

The  following  from  Tullidge's  "  Western  Galaxy  "  will  be  of  interest 
to  the  artist  and  lover  of  Nature's  wilds  : 

The  time  has  arrived  when  Utah  must  proclaim  to  the  whole  world 
her  manifold  attractions,  and  make  plain  to  the  people  of  every  coun- 
try that  she  possesses  within  her  borders  scenes  of  magnificence 
worthy  to  be  looked  upon  by  travelers  from  every  clime.  Thousands 
of  citizens  of  our  own  Nation,  as  well  as  of  Europe,  make  plans  during 
the  winter  months  as  to  which  watering  place  or  in  what  mountain 
region  they  shall  spend  the  hot  summer.  Most  of  the  large  cities  of 
the  East  are  not  fitted  for  residence  in  July  and  August  on  account  of 
the  heat  that  lasts  throughout  the  night  as  well  as  the  day,  and  people 
of  means  habitually  going  away  during  these  months  are  sometimes 
at  a  loss  to  decide  to  what  more  endurable  region  they  shall  go.  The 
testimony  of  our  cool  and  sparkling  climate  has  been  so  frequently 
borne  by  visitors  of  recent  years  that  it  is  now  well  known,  and  the 
charms  of  our  lake  bathing  resort  have  also  been  widely  published  ; 
but  there  has  not  been  one-half  said  of  the  glory  of  our  mountain 
scenery,  with  its  snow-clad  peaks  and  pine  forests,  the  rushing  streams 
filled  with  trout,  and  the  wide  stretches  of  upland,  the  mountain  vales 
with  their  deer,  and  the  lakes  and  grassy  nooks  that  gem  the  Wasatch 
all  along  the  range.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  these  mountains, 
which  overlook  Salt  Lake  City  from  the  east,  are  not  surpassed  in 
scenic  qualities  by  any  range  in  America.  In  some  respects  they  have 
no  parallel.  The  vale  through  which  the  Jordan  runs  stretches  broad 
and  grassy  to  the  base  of  the  mountain  wall  where  these  gigantic  cliffs, 
uprising  nearly  8,000  feet,  rocky  and  splintered,  bear  great  gleaming 
basins  of  eternal  snow,  and  nurse  the  ever-changing  cloud-flakes  the 
whole  summer  through. 

When  California  publishes  abroad  her  scenic  wonders,  she  does  not 
call  special  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  famed  Yosemite  Valley  is 
over  a  hundred  miles  from  San  Francisco  to  the  east,  and  the  so-called 
Geysers  are  nearly  as  far  to  the  north.  And  when  Denver  sends  her 
pictures  of  the  Mountain  of  the  Holy  Cross  far  and  wide,  she  does  not 
dilate  upon  its  being  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  away  in  the  heart  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  ; — even  the  Garden  of  the  Gods  and  Pike's  Peak 
being  eighty  miles  from  the  capital  of  Colorado.  These  are  facts 
which  the  visitor  does  not  learn  until  he  has  come  so  far  west  that  he 


92  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE     CITY. 

makes  the  further  trip  to  reach  them  rather  than  return  bootless.  It 
is  far  different  here.  Scenic  features  of  surpassing  beauty  are  at  our 
very  doors.  The  Valley  alone,  with  its  snowy  ranges  on  either  side, 
is  worth  a  long  journey  to  see  ;  while  the  Great  Salt  Lake  stretches  its 
broad  breast  across  the  region  to  the  northwest  in  full  view  from  the 
city.  One  may  witness  the  sunrise  in  any  of  the  neighboring  canons 
by  an  hour's  walk — may  see  the  glory  of  the  early  morn,  when  the  sun 
vaults  over  the  hills  and  the  vapors  of  night  are  clearing  away — when 
the  passes  of  the  range  as  well  as  the  Valley  itself  are  bathed  in  soft 
opalescent  mists  shortly  to  dissipate  for  the  crystalline  clearness  of  the 
day.  Even  the  Alps,  the  Andes,  the  Rocky  Mountains  themselves, 
and  other  famous  ranges,  though  greater  in  altitude,  fail  in  comparison 
with  the  Wasatch  in  one  respect.  The  peaks  of  other  chains  can  only 
be  viewed  from  a  great  distance,  for  the  reason  that  low  parallel  ranges 
shut  off  the  view  as  their  bases  are  approached  ;  but  here  in  our  Valley 
nothing  intervenes  between  the  verdant  fields  of  the  plain  and  the 
snow-capped  mountains  whose  feet  rest  among  farms  and  villages. 
And  in  among  these  settlements  are  to  be  discovered  the  quaintest  of 
homes,  embowered  in  trees  and  overgrown  with  flowers,  while  the 
lanes  that  thread  among  the  wheat  fields  and  the  glowing  patches  of 
lucerne  are  the  haunts  of  song  birds  and  redolent  with  the  fragrance  .of 
wild  roses  and  sweet  clover. 

Along  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  once  so  barren  and  drear,  are  now 
to  be  found  many  pastoral  scenes  of  interest.  There  has  been  much 
change  here  in  the  past  few  years.  Signs  of  thrift  and  proofs  of  the 
richness  of  the  soil  are  to  be  seen  in  the  blooming  fields,  the  over- 
hanging foliage,  and  the  sleek  fat  kine  that  browse  in  the  well-watered 
meadows.  The  efforts  of  the  husbandman  have  prevailed  against  the 
desert  from  the  beginning,  and  the  willing  earth  has  clothed  itself  with 
beauty  while  the  tillers  of  the  soil  have  been  nursing  it  to  fruitfulness. 
By  the  roadside  and  along  the  river  banks  wild  flowers  and  tall  grasses 
have  sprung  up  among  the  willows,  and  the  broad-leaved  cottonwoods 
planted  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  by  the  Pettits  have  grown  to  be 
a  noble  avenue  of  stately  trees  whose  sweeping  boughs  dip  even  into 
the  waters  of  the  Jordan  and  cast  cool  broad  shadows  across  the  river 
path. 

Charms  of  this  sort,  however,  are  to  be  found  the  world  over, 
wherever  the  hand  of  man  has  been  lifted  to  redeem  the  earth,  and  we 
should  not  advert  to  them  in  this  place  but  for  the  impression  which 
many  have  abroad  that  Utah  is  essentially  sterile.  The  mountains  of 


RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY.  93 

this  Territory  were  never  barren.     Nature  has  ever  clothed  them  with 
her  own  rich  garments  of  forest  and  meadow. 

We  have  said  that  the  wonders  of  our  marvelous  salt  sea  have  been 
heralded  afar  ;  but  the  Great  Salt  Lake  is  a  theme  of  never-ceasing 
interest  which  can  be  dwelt  upon  in  a  thousand  moods  without  risk  of 
tiring  the  reader.  Island  mountains  spring  from  its  blue  depths  whose 
lonely  shores  are  rarely  traversed  by  human  footsteps  and  whose 
heights  have  never  perhaps  been  explored.  What  wild  and  romantic 
scenes,  fraught  with  mystery  of  isolation  and  seclusion,  may  lie  hidden 
amid  their  lofty  summits  no  one  can  say.  They  lie  silent,  solitary,  and 
desolate  in  the  wilderness  of  forbidding  waters.  There  is  a  place  on 
the  western  shore  of  Church  Island  where  a  sharp  and  rocky  ridge 
stretches  down  to  the  sea,  where  the  strong  north-west  winds  of  centu- 
ries have  hollowed  out  the  rocks  along  the  shore,  carving  them  into 
fantastic  shapes  which  point  their  fingers  skyward  or  arch  gracefully 
over  the  green  waves  that  lap  against  them. 

But  it  is  in  the  canons,  after  all,  that  Utah  scenery  is  the  most 
attractive.  There  are  half  a  score  of  mountain  passes  in  sight  of  Salt 
Lake  City  whose  recesses  contain  features  amongst  which  one  in  search 
of  the  beautiful  might  wander  the  whole  summer  through,  while 
throughout  the  Territory  are  many  tremendous  scenic  wonders.  Moun- 
tain peaks  whose  riven  tops  are  crowned  with  snow  that  never  melts 
— we  have  them  with  their  heads  loftier  than  the  highest  in  Colorado  ; 
canons  through  which  great  rivers  roll  onward  to  the  sea,  and  whose 
sides  rise  up  so  high  as  to  shut  out  the  glare  of  day — indeed,  we  have 
the  greatest  under  the  sun.  The  Great  Gorge  of  the  Yellowstone  is 
beautiful,  brilliant,  astounding  ;  the  Royal  Gorge  of  the  Arkansas  is 
wild,  stupendous  ;  the  Valley  of  the  Yosemite  is  imposing,  beautiful  ; 
they  are  each  of  them  worthy  to  rank  among  the  wonders  of  the  earth; 
but  they  all  three  grow  weak  before  the  awful  Gorge  of  the  World — the 
Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado  in  south-eastern  Utah.  Many  a  writer 
has  dilated  upon  the  magnificence  of  American  Fork  Canon,  with  its 
wild  and  fantastic  rock  forms  and  rushing  streams;  while  the  "Old 
Mill,"  buried  amidst  overhanging  boughs  of  cottonwoods  at  the  foot 
of  Lone  Peak,  has  caught  the  eye  of  every  artist  for  many  years. 

These  Wasatch  canons  are  all  delightful  places  for  fishermen, 
hunters  and  campers-out,  whose  tents  are  seen  in  many  a  grassy  nook 
and  along  the  shady  banks  of  the  various  streams.  There  is  a  regular 
mountain  resort  at  Silver  Lake  near  the  head  of  Big  Cottonwood 
Canon  ;  but  it  is  a  matter  of  wonder  that  so  little  attention  has  been 


94  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

paid  in  the  past  to  the  fitting  out  of  camping  parties  and  the  establish- 
ing of  tent  hotels  in  our  mountains.  Big  Cottonwood  Canon,  so  near 
at  hand,  is  especially  inviting  for  such  enterprises,  and  we  believe  par- 
ties are  now  preparing  to  carry  on  a  summer  hotel  at  Lake  Blanche 
near  the  "Pillars  of  the  Wasatch."  This  splendid  region  is  about 
three  miles  up  the  South  Fork  of  Mill  UB,"  and  is  not  more  than 
sixteen  miles  from  the  Main  Street  of  Salt  Lake  City.  In  reach- 
ing it,  every  step  of  the  way,  from  the  entrance  of  Big  Cottonwood 
until  one  stands  awestruck  at  the  base  of  these  gigantic,  rocky 
pillars,  is  full  of  beauty  and  grandeur.  The  powers  of  the  artist 
fail  before  such  a  spectacle  as  this. 

In  the  Yellowstone  National  Park  it  has  been  the  custom  for 
years  to  establish  tent  hotels  consisting  of  one  or  more  large  tents 
for  dining  room  and  general  rendezvous  and  a  number  of  smaller 
tents  fitted  with  beds  for  private  apartments.  They  are  very  popular 
and  are  thronged  throughout  the  summer  months  with  tourists 
from  all  parts  of  the  world.  "  'T  is  a  gypsy's  life  they  lead,"  but  the 
gypsy  life  has  been  refined  upon  so  that  it  has  all  the  attractiveness  of 
camping  out  with  none  of  its  drudgery.  As  we  have  hinted,  such  an 
arrangement  will  be  made  the  coming  summer  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
"Pillars  of  the  Wasatch/' on  the  shores  of  a  series  of  glacier  lakes 
known  as  the  Three  Sisters,  and  which  have  been  separately  named 
Lakes  Blanche,  Florence,  and  Lillian.  With  such  an  establishment,  the 
attractions  of  our  beautiful  Wasatch  will  become  more  widely  known, 
and  not  only  afford  increased  pleasure  to  our  citizens,  but  prove  an 
objective  point  to  many  tourists  from  the  East.  Big  Cottonwood  Canon 
can  be  reached  from  the  city  in  two  hours'  drive. 

A  further  series  of  lakes  lies  near  the  head  of  the  main  canon, 
including  Silver  Lake,  Lakes  Phcebe,  Martha,  and  others  now  well 
known  to  many.  They  have  been  visited  by  hundreds  of  travelers,  and 
such  artists  as  Thomas  Moran  and  Albert  Bierstadt  have  paid  tribute 
to  their  loveliness  on  more  than  one  canvas.  Lake  Mary  has  been 
known  as  the  gem  of  our  mountains. 

Over  the  Divide,  near  the  head  of  Little  Cottonwood,  is  still  another: 
Lake  Minnie,  different  from  all  the  others.  It  is  on  the  trail  leading 
into  American  Fork  Canon,  and  is  not  less  than  9,500  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  In  its  neighborhood  are  some  of  the  most  famous 
mines  of  Utah,  and  a  person  standing  on  its  shores  may  hear  the  boom 
of  distant  blasts  echoing  from  the  gigantic  cliffs  that  overlook  the  lake 
and  mark  the  upper  end  of  the  canon. 


DENVER   AND   SALT    LAI^E. 


COLORADO  has  been  justly  regarded  as  the  greatest  common- 
wealth of  the  West — greatest  because  of  its  possession  of  all  that 
contributes  to  the  health  and  happiness  so  yearned  after  by 
mortals.  Its  climate  and  mineral  springs  have  drawn  thousands  from 
distant  homes  in  search  of  health,  and  its  wealth  of  mineral  has  had  irre- 
sistible attractions  for  the  capitalist  and  fortune-hunter.  The  fortunes 
extracted  from  its  mines  have  been  invested  in  industrial  enterprises 
which  afford  employment  to  labor,  and  Nature's  generosity  has  begotten 
in  the  hearts  of  the  inhabitants  impulses  so  generous  that  whole  com- 
munities seem  devoid  of  all  personal  selfishness  in  their  devotion  to  the 
general  welfare.  Colorado  has  prospered  beyond  the  most  sanguine  ex- 
pectations since  the  discovery  of  Leadville.  Prior  to  that  event  few 
citizens  of  Denver  dreamt  that  their  city  would  ever  become  the  beau- 
tiful metropolis  and  progressive  center  of  to-day.  And  as  Denver  has 
grown  and  prospered,  the  State  itself  has  advanced  in  the  same  direc- 
tion and  multiplied  its  wealth  of  population  many  times. 

Yet  with  all  its  claims;  with  all  the  laurels  of  success  won  by  the 
State  and  its  metropolis  in  the  last  ten  years  ;  notwithstanding  the  uni- 
versal interest  which  they  have  aroused  throughout  the  East;  Utah 
Territory  and  Salt  Lake  City  are  not  afraid  to  submit  to  the  world  a 
comparison  of  their  resources  and  attractions  with  those  of  Colorado 
and  Denver.  Nature  has  done  more  for  the  former  than  for  the  latter, 
but  money  and  enterprise  have  made  Denver  what  Salt  Lake  has  yet 
to  become. 

To  emphasize  the  claims  of  the  latter  to  superior  natural  excellence, 
the  following  editorial  from  the  facile  and  graceful  pen  of  Judge  C.  C. 
Goodwin  is  reproduced  : 

"  Harper 's  Magazine  for  May  has  an  illustrated  article  on  '  The  City 
of  Denver.'  While  reading  the  article  and  looking  at  the  stately  pub- 
lic edifices,  the  resident  of  Salt  Lake  naturally  thinks  of  the  progress 
of  the  wonderful  little  city  over  the  mountains,  and  unconsciously  min- 
gles thoughts  of  it  with  thoughts  of  our  own  place.  But  there  is  no  envy 

(95) 


96  RESOURCES    OF    UTAH    AND    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

in  the  thought,  and  no  jealousy  in  contemplating  our  neighbor  forging 
ahead,  and  from  a  little  village,poor  and  homely,in  a  single  decade  of  years 
becoming  a  signal-station  among  the  cities  of  the  Union.  There  is  no 
jealousy,  because  between  Denver  and  Salt  Lake  there  can  never  be 
any  clashing.  Nature  has  upreared  a  mighty  protective  tariff  of  moun- 
tains between  the  two  places,  and  each  is  absolutely  independent  of  the 
other,  or  at  least  will  be  when  railroad  connections  for  both  shall  have 
been  fully  made.  The  light  of  Denver  is  brightest  now.  She  faces  the 
East  and  catches  the  first  rays  of  the  dawn.  In  the  same  way  she  has 
caught  and  absorbed  the  tide  of  westward-tending  people  ;  her  people 
have  done  their  very  utmost  to  make  their  place  attractive  to  their 
guests  and  to  influence  business  concentrations  which  should  hold 
Denver  as  the  center,  the  receiving  and  distributing  point.  Denver 
has  grown  phenomenally  while  Salt  Lake  has  slowly  expanded.  But  if 
the  dawn  is  emblematic  of  Denver,  we  have  a  symbol  here  which  is 
quite  as  striking  and  quite  as  freighted  with  omens  of  good.  There 
are  no  such  evenings  and  sunsets  elsewhere  as  here.  We  are  on  the 
mountains'  western  slope;  the  day  does  not  come  to  us  so  quickly  as  to 
Denver,  but  it  lingers  longer,  and  when  at  last  it  fades  away  it  passes 
out  of  sight  in  chariots  of  sapphire  and  gold.  The  sight  of  Denver  was 
forbidding  at  first.  The  site  of  Salt  Lake  City  was  glorious  from  the 
first.  Nature  gathered  here  all  her  splendors  of  mountain,  valley, 
river,  and  lake,  and  hung  above  all  a  sky  and  air  that  were  enchant- 
ment in  themselves,  and  then  left  it  for  man  to  complete  the  miracle. 
It  will  be  completed  one  of  these  days.  There  will  be  a  superb  State 
House  here  ;  there  will  be  splendid  structures  on  every  hand:  temples 
to  learning,  to  law,  to  justice,  to  commerce,  and  all  the  embellishment 
which  come  when  an  earnest  people  set  themselves  to  work  to  finish 
a  picture  which  Nature  began  with  immortal  dyes  to  paint.  It  may 
be  this  year,  or  next,  or  a  year  later,  before  the  full  unfoldment 
may  begin  ;  but  it  is  coming.  We  may  judge  of  the  future  by  the  past. 
We  need  to  go  back  but  six  years,  and  think  what  was  then,  and  then 
think  of  what  is  to-day,  to  know  that  the  center  has  been  turned — that 
tyranny  and  superstition  have  retired  to  the  background,  and  that 
progress,  and  the  energy  which  comes  when  hope  is  born  and  chains  are 
breaking  from  the  souls  of  men,  are  moving  in  our  midst. 


